Peter Cassidy

Peter Cassidy (1938 - 2007)

Brief overview:

Peter (69), a journalist originally from Ireland, was tortured and murdered at his home in McDonald Street, near the Savannah Mall, Polokwane, on Tuesday 21st August 2007.

Police arrived at the murder scene to find Peter on the floor of his bedroom with his hands and feet tied up, and strangulation marks on his neck. The post-mortem examination confirmed that he had been tortured. Among other things, he was beaten with a rope, burned and strangled before his neck was broken.

Peter's Fiat bakkie pick-up truck was found next to the road to Mankweng outside Polokwane around 3am on the Tuesday.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • A death notice in the Irish News said that Mr Cassidy's death would be "deeply regretted" by his sister Teresa and the family circle.
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • During the gruesome murder, only about R180 was stolen.
  • Cassidy's Fiat bakkie had also been stolen and abandoned next to the road
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
  • Peter had been tortured. Among other things, he was beaten with a rope, burned and strangled before his neck was broken.
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • The suspected murderers, who are also connected to other crimes, were caught about a week after the murder, and were held in custody since then.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • The suspects were due to appear in court on 2nd and 3rd of November 2009.
  • One suspects in the case was his gardener (33) who had been in his employ for many years.

Additional Biographical Information:

• Identity Number: 3906085044084
• Cause of Death: UNNATURAL CAUSES

Peter had lived and worked in South Africa for more than 30 years. He was unmarried and had no children.

Mr Cassidy, a former teacher at St Augustine's Secondary School on the Ravenhill Road, had been living and working as a freelance journalist in South Africa for many years.

Dewald Hattingh, station manager at Jacaranda RMFM, praised Mr Cassidy's work as a journalist and said he would be sadly missed.

"He was one of the those guys you could send on any story," he said.

" He was very fond of sport reporting, but he could also do political stories and other stories. You could send him to any occasion.

"He was here for quite a few years, I can remember him from the eighties.

" He was a quiet man, he wouldn't disturb anything. He was a very calm person, everyone knew him in town. You would see him sitting in the restaurants in town. He was well-known to everyone in Polokwane.

"He was a very nice character. He wouldn't harm anyone.

Links to Media articles:

• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000188407512829
• https://archive.is/hd6wF
• https://archive.is/GIW8o