Carmen van der Westhuizen

Carmen van der Westhuizen (1975 - 2013)

Brief overview:

Carmen (38), was horrifically murdered, on 7th February 2013, in her new home, in Riebeeckstad, Welkom, while she was unpacking boxes. She was attacked in the kitchen and her head was slashed open with an axe or panga, stabbed 77 times with a sharp object, and her throat was also slit.

Her husband, Pieter, found her body. He said he was grateful that his children Dylan (8), and Minette (9), were in the car when he went into the house. Workers were supposed to visit to look at the garden and pool, but when Pieter was unable reach his wife, he became worried. The school phoned him to say the children had not been collected.

An armed response security guard, Jan Engelbrecht, was called and met the Pieter at the house. “He said I should go look in the kitchen. There I found his wife. It was not a pretty picture,” said Engelbrecht.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • Paul Nqakalatsane was arrested for Carmen's murder and appeared in court, claiming self-defense.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • The state ripped apart Nqakalatsane's defense that he killed Carmen out of self-defense.
  • The 24-year-old man who allegedly killed Carmen, was out on bail when he committed the murder.

Additional Biographical Information:

Links to Media articles:

• http://archive.is/eTg8h
• http://archive.is/ep7J8
• http://archive.is/VMHlh
• https://archive.ph/8vQ6y
• https://issuu.com/vistanews/docs/vista_news_21-02-2013