Daniël Marais

Daniël Marais (1933 – 1998)

Brief overview:

Daniël Marais (65) lived with his wife, Maria Magdalena Marais (64), and their grandson
(7) on their farm Mariesdale/Marydale at Oppermansgrond in the district of Koffiefontein.

The perpetrator, Hendrik Jemi Spieël, was employed on the farm by Mr. Marais, and he used to have his meals with them. Spieël was arrested for a murder committed in Luckhoff, a neighbouring village. He was granted bail and he phoned Marais, asking him to pay his bail. Marais paid the bail and, after being released from prison, he went back to the farm where he worked. After they had had supper on the evening of Tuesday, 12 May 1998, Spieël told Mrs. Marais that her grandson was feverish. She went to the bedroom where her son was in bed, leaving Spieël and her husband in the dining room. Spieël took a knife and stabbed Mr. Marais to death. Mrs. Marais came to her husband’s assistance, and managed to push Spieël out of the house. She then locked herself and her husband in a room, but Spieël broke down the door. He overpowered Mrs. Marais and assaulted her. Spieël then took off his bloodstained clothes and burned them. He cut the telephone wire and also burned out the telephone. He then took two watches, R900-00 in cash, clothes and drove off with the family’s vehicle. He was arrested the next day near Vanwyksvlei, when he overturned the vehicle.

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
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • Spieël was indicted in the High Court, and on 10 October 1998 he was convicted of murder, housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances. He was also convicted for the murder committed at Luckhoff.
  • The presiding judge declared Spieël to be a dangerous criminal and he was given an indeterminate sentence of which a minimum of 25 years imprisonment was to be served. He is serving his sentence at Grootvlei Prison, Bloemfontein.

Additional Biographical Information:

• ID Number : 3405015054081
• Official cause of death : Stab wounds of the neck and shoulder

Committee Of Inquiry Into Farm Attacks 2003 - Comments:

• The victims as well as the perpetrator were coloured persons.
• This is a borderline case of a farm attack, since the perpetrator was being treated as part of the family. The Committee includes this case because it was one of those referred to it by the Transvaal Agricultural Union.
• The prosecuting state advocate as well as the investigating officer were interviewed by the Committee. They are of the opinion that the crimes were the result of common criminality on the part of Spieël.

Links to Media articles:

• https://africacheck.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Final-Report-Com...
• https://web.archive.org/web/20071012091652/http://www.matriots.com/...
• https://www.yumpu.com/nl/document/read/4451339/laai-af-die-lys-van-...