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About Martiens G Richter
Martiens Richter (1954 - 2022)
Brief overview:
Martiens (68), a farmer from Farm Vygeboompoort, Dwaalboom near Thabazimbi in Limpopo Province, was murdered, and his wife, Elsa (67), tortured for hours, on the night of Monday 6th September 2022.
Martiens' body was found in a river on the farm on Tuesday morning with his hands and feet tied up.
Martiens had been ambushed and hit him over the head with an iron. It is unknown as to whether Martiens died from the blow to the head or if he drowned.
Police spokesperson, Brig. Motlafela Mojapelo, said available information indicates that an unknown number of suspects entered the victims' house on the farm around 02h00. It is believed that two of the suspects worked for the Richters and are Zimbabwean nationals.
Brief Biography:
- Other Victims/Family
- Elsa was tortured for hours, and burned with a hot clothing iron, and left in the field. She was treated in the Mediclinic in Thabazimbi and told her daughter the details about the attack.
- Martiens is survived by Elsa, Retha, and three other children, and an eldest son who lives in New Zealand who flew to South Africa with his family to attend his father's funeral.
- 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
- Elsa told her daughter, Retha Bessenger, that the perpetrators took her to a room, removed her clothes and pushed her under the shower. They wanted to burn her with hot water. Retha said that her parents would turn off the geyser to save costs on electricity, so there was no hot water. The attackers then found the keys to the safe and took Martiens' .308 shotgun and loaded it. The perpetrators then tied up Elsa's hands and feet, kicked and punched her and hit her in the face with a pistol.
""They pressed the gun to my mother's head and said: 'We are going to shoot you now.' My mother began to pray loudly in Afrikaans. She just said: 'In the name of God, you're not going to shoot me tonight,'" said Bessenger." After which they wrapped Elsa in a blanket put her into the couple's van and left her in a field four kilometres away from the farm. After an hour she realised that the attackers were not coming back and she walked back to the farm and called for help on their four-way radio.
- Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.
Perpetrator details:
- Number and Descriptions
- Arrests
- Police had received information about a stolen vehicle seen being driven along Potgieter street in Bela Bela, which matched the description of the Martinus's car. A shoot out between the suspects and the police ensued, and one suspect was fatally shot and the other one injured.
- Inside the vehicle were five firearms including a toy gun, two plasma TV sets, two cellphones and tools.
- Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
- Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
- Trial/Conviction
Additional Biographical Information:
Retha expressed her anger saying that her father was such a gentle guy. "He worked so well with his farm workers. He bought them oranges. I gave them my boy's baby clothes. That's the kind of people we are. We give to people who don't have. And now they are taking it away from us."
Links to Media articles:
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Martiens G Richter's Timeline
| 1954 |
1954
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| 2022 |
September 6, 2022
Age 68
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Dwaalboom, Bosveld, LP, South Africa
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