Melissa Sara van der Merwe

Melissa Sara van der Merwe (1980 - 2004)

Brief overview:

Melissa (24), her husband Darryl Francis van der Merwe (31), father-in-law Francis Henry Johannes van der Merwe (Frans) (57), and mother-in-law, Georgina Felicity van der Merwe (Gina) (53), from Benoni, Gauteng, were abducted, poisoned and shot dead, on 9th February 2004. Darryl and Melissa, were held at gunpoint in their Farrarmere home that Sunday morning and forced to call his parents to the house.

The perpetrators held the family hostage, and were tortured for hours.

The two women were raped before being shot dead. The family's bodies were found near Loskop Dam.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • The only surviving family member Sonia van der Merwe (33), attended the court proceedings every day, and said she found it "terrible and very difficult" to look the men in the face.
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • The police in Alexandra in Johannesburg found the company vehicle abandoned and covered in blood and later found the bodies at Loskop Dam. Darryl’s gold necklace found in possession of Khubeka was the one clue police needed to make a breakthrough with the case.
• 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
  • Vincent Khubeka (22) (died in prison), Temba Radebe (44), Lucky Mbalati (20), and Clement Boy-Boy Makua (24), appeared in the High Court in Secunda in October 2004. Each of the accused is facing 22 charges, which include murder, attempted murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping and theft. Khubeka, a former employee of the Van der Merwes' business, admitted guilt on two charges of robbery and one of theft. He denies kidnapping, raping or murdering the victims.
  • The other three pleaded non-guilty to all charges, but Radebe had earlier confessed and identified three people for the police. They are now contesting the validity of submitting this testimony and identifications in a sub-trial.
  • The accused claim police assaulted, tortured and threatened them to make confessions and identifications.
  • Nine police officers, who were involved in the men's arrest and identification, already testified in the sub-trial and strongly denied the men's allegations.

Additional Biographical Information:

• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes (Case Ref: 37/04)

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.is/fo8oQ (February 2024 update by Sonia van der Merwe - daughter to Gina and Frans, and sister to Darryl)
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000188293035834
• http://archive.is/xXZRT
• https://archive.is/y447f