Christiaan Jacobus van der Walt

Christiaan 'Christo' van der Walt (1949 - 1997)

Brief overview:

Christo (48), was bludgeoned to death and his 84 year old father severely assaulted in a bloody attack at their farm house on 5th August 1997. Christo of the farm Weltevreden at van Tonder's Pass, Helpmekaar district, died of massive head injuries.

Two men who went to the farm to buy milk at about 8 am on Tuesday found Mr van der Walt in a slate of shock. He had been tied up and was bleeding profusely.

His hearing aid was missing and he was unable to speak. The men rushed him to Johan du Plessis's farm and the police were contacted. Police found the body of Christo in the house. He too had been bound. Using pen and paper Mr van der Walt told police two men had entered the house during the night and attacked him and his son.'

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • His 84 year old father, Barend van der Walt was severely assaulted, and was admitted to Dundee Hospital with various injuries.
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • Mr van der Walt was also a victim or an assault in earlier that year in May when three men attacked him and struck him on the head with an axe.
  • A total of 12 people were murdered on farms or smallholdings in KZN during 1997. Besides Christo, 11 other people were murdered, predominantly farmers and their wives. 8 of the victims were elderly, between the ages of 60 and 80. A further seven attacks occurred in the province during 1997.
  • Thelma Nzama (80), stabbed to death on a farm outside Paddock on 01/03/1997.
  • Werner Johannes Gathmann (60), shot and killed on his farm Schoonzicht, Seven Oaks, Rietvlei, Greytown on 25/03/1997
  • Peter Aurora Campbell (61), although not murdered on his farm, Peter a farmer from Vryheid was shot dead while delivering milk in Blood River on 26/03/1997.
  • Reginald Spencer Evans (55), shot in the face and chest at his farm Horseshoe, Camperdown, KZN on 30/06/1997
  • Peter James Robert Ellson (68), and his wife Elizabeth Anne Jardine Ellson (68), hacked with panga’s on their farm Plottie in Thornville on 03/09/1997
  • Richard Noel Hardy (42), shot dead in Babanango on 03/09/1997
  • Vivianna Alma Gevers (60), shot twice in the head at her farm in Paulpietersburg on 05/10/1997.
  • Roald John Seabrook Smith (28), shot five times in Kzambonambi, north of Empangeni on 12/11/1997.
  • Elizabeth Magdalena Marais (33) and her husband Nicolaas Johannes Marais (44), tortured and beaten with blunt objects in Newcastle on 25/11/1997.
• 7 further attacks occurred in the province during 1997, where the victims thankfully survived:
  • 1997: Brett Kjonstad (41), shot through window when trying to protect his daughter Claudia who was being attacked in the garden on their farm near Margate.
  • 01/04/1997: Roland Niebuhr (40), his wife Heike (34) and their three children were overpowered, tied up and robbed on their farm near Paulpietersburg.
  • 03/04/1997: William Struckmeyer (66), attacked and stabbed with a knife on his farm Rietvallei in Howick.
  • 16/03/1997: Edwin Freese (36), his wife Inge (36) and their young daughters Brenda (4) and Chantel (9) were attacked at their Farm Datton in Lilienthal, Fawn Leas. Edwin and Inge suffered severe injuries.
  • 28/09/1997: Christo Delport, attacked and shot twice on his farm Nooitgedacht in Pangola
  • 20/10/1997: Dan Ellis, was in a critical condition after he was shot in the head through a window at his farm Texel in the Nkwaleni area.
  • 26/11/1997: Wayne Botha (32), attacked by the armed men on his farm in Highflats. He was hit on the back of his head with a walking stick and shot in the stomach. Fortunately the gun was loaded with buckshot.

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
  • Tuesday morning, 05 August 1997
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • The house had been ransacked and a beige Audi 100, reg no. FPR 824 T, was missing.
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
  • Police described the scene as 'horrific'. "Blood was found in almost every room. It seems as if their attackers had taken Mr van der WaIt and his father into every room and smashed them over the head with a heavy object". said police spokeman Jan Noordman.
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction

Additional Biographical Information:

• Identity Number : 4902235134080
• Official cause of death : Unnatural
• Christiaan married Elsa Louise (born Le Roux) on 09/10/1976

Links to Media articles:

• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000104798968890
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0UlqSM-_mwDNWJlZmMxNmYtNGMwMS00Yz...