Follow Us
Like Us
view all
Immediate Family
-
wife
About Joey van Niekerk
Joey van Niekerk (1985 - 2017)
Brief overview:
Joey (32), and her wife, Anisha (30), were reported missing on 10th December 2017 when they were supposed to be leaving their smallholding by car in Mooinooi to Pretoria to attend a family members funeral. The couple was locked up in a container where they were repeatedly assaulted, raped and tortured. They had bleach poured over their naked bodies, and they were hanged by ropes around their necks, and suffocated to death. Their bodies were then taken to a nearby river, set alight, after which their bones were crushed and buried.
The couple was lured and coerced into signing an offer of purchase for their plot.
Koos Strydom (53), the mastermind behind the murders, his wife Marchia (Mercia) Strydom (21), Vincent Strydom (29), Maroela Opperman (18) Aaron Sithole (23), Jack Sithole (18), Alex Mudau (36), and Moses Rakubu (33) were arrested for their murders.
Koos Strydom died at the end of September 2019. His death is believed to be a suicide. He was reportedly found unconscious in his single cell at Kgosi Mampuru 111 prison in Pretoria, and taken to hospital.
Investigations revealed that the couple were forced to give the PIN numbers of their bank cards, whereupon thousands of rands were withdrawn from Joey's account on 11th and 12th December, while R800 was withdrawn from Anisha's on 12th December.
On 15th October 2020, Aaron James Sithole (37), Jack Chikinya Sithole (21), Alex Modau (39), and Mercia Strydom (24), were found guilty on multiple charges including murder, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, theft, defeating the ends of justice, and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
“You are a gang of evil-minded criminals,” Judge Bert Bam told the four killers before sentencing two of them to two life imprisonment terms, while the other two each received four life terms.
The court heard that Joey was killed first and that Anisha had to witness this while she was also tied to a meathook. When the bones were discovered, forensic experts were only able to identify the remains of Anisha.
Mercia Strydom asked Gauteng High Court Judge Bam to have mercy on her and to keep her out of jail, claiming she was only 21 when the Van Niekerks were killed and while two State witnesses in detail testified how she was on the scene of the killings, she maintained to the end she was not present. She received two life sentences, as well as an additional 69 years imprisonment.
Alex Modau received two life sentences and an additional 54 years in jail, and James Sithole and his brother Jack Sithole received four life terms and an additional 54 years.
Brief Biography:
- Other Victims/Family
- See also Amanda Janse van Rensburg (Mey) "Mandie" (51) 24/06/2014 smallholding close to Kroondal, NW (shot dead while closing store, murdered for an insurance payout) external link, media article, media article
- 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
Additional Biographical Information:
Links to Media articles:
view all
Joey van Niekerk's Timeline
| 1985 |
1985
|
||
| 2017 |
December 10, 2017
Age 32
|
Mooinooi, Bojanala, NW, South Africa
|