Marthinus Johannes Venter

Marthinus Johannes Venter "Marnus" (1985 - 2007)

Brief overview:

Marnus (22), a medical student at Tuks university, was shot dead after arriving at his home in Eldoraigne, Pretoria, just after midnight on Sunday 15th April 2007, after attending a friends wedding.

It is unclear as to exactly what happened, but Marnus's father, Dr. Jan Venter, said that it appeared he managed to drive into the garage, but people got in behind him. When he got out of the car, they shot him. The perpetrators took nothing at all.

Neighbour's of the family, heard what they believed to be fireworks, and looked out of the window, but didn't see anything unusual. To be cautious, the neighbour and his son went to check as they saw that the garage door was open. "When I went to investigate I saw the body lying next to the car with the driver-side door open,” he said.

Police spokesperson Inspector Lucas Sithole said that nothing had been stolen and that police were investigating a case of murder. Sithole was not willing to speculate whether the shooting was a botched hijacking or not.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
  • 18/04/2007 - NG Gemeente Kerk, Eldoraigne, Pretoria.
  • The family held an informal memorial in the driveway of the house on Monday 17th April.
• 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
• 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:

Dr. Venter said that his son was "deeply religious" and a passionate guitarist who played in the band at his church. "He was still in his primary studies, but his intentions were to become an orthopaedic surgeon and take over my practice,” he said.

• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes

Links to Media articles:

• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000188609528821
• https://www.genza.org.za/begrafnisbriewe/index.php?album=V-Surnames...