Dixie Basson

Dixie Basson (1931 - 2008)

Brief overview:

Dixie (77), and her husband, Fanie (66), were attacked by four men in the bedroom of their home in Highlands Street, Kensington, Johannesburg, on Friday 27th January 2008.

The couple had been watching a cricket game and went to bed late that night. They were awoken when four men armed with a crowbar and knives were standing around their bed.

Police spokesperson, Capt. Cheryl Engelbrecht, said the robbers gained access through a window.

The attackers forced the couple to lie on their stomachs on the bed and tied up their hands and feet with shoelaces, and gagged their mouths with cloth.

As Fanie struggled with the attackers, he was stabbed with a knife in his side, left hand and arm, and repeatedly hit over the head with the crowbar. They then covered his head with pillows, and he couldn't see what what happening. He said that they were shouting at them to shut up and be quiet, demanding to know where the safe was, to which Fanie replied that they didn't have one.

Police and emergency services arrived, and Dixie was declared dead at the scene. Fanie was rushed to Bedford Gardens Clinics where he was treated, receiving about 33 stitches around his side and to suture cuts to his head.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• 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
  • Fanie heard Dixie begging the attackers to stop and to take anything they wanted in the house, but he said that they just continued to shout and kept hitting her with the crowbar until she went quiet. He managed to loosen the laces, and that's when he saw Dixie laying on the carpet.
• 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:

Rev. Gert Els said that the couple were members of the NG congregation in Kensington. He said “It's unbelievable and very, very tragic. The two old people were so gentle and wonderful." "Aunt Dixie was this little person who was so easy going, why kill her so brutally?"

Links to Media articles:

• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000188346417822