Sheila Marais

Sheila Marais (1939 – 1998)

Brief overview:

Sheila (58), lived on the farm Newlands near Warmbaths with her husband Peter and son Rodney. On 16 March 1998 Peter Marais left for Warmbaths, leaving his wife behind. Later Sheila Marais also left in her motor car to do shopping in town. When Peter Marais returned around 16:00 he found the car of his wife near the farm gate. The doors were open and his wife was dead inside, shot through the heart.

Carry bags - his wife’s purchases - were strewn all over. Her handbag with credit cards, purse and other items were missing.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • On the day before, on Monday, an elderly KwaZulu-Natal farmer was shot dead and his wife pistol whipped on their farm in the Midlands. Police spokesman Superintendent Henry Budram said Dave Ronaldson (68), was shot in the stomach when he opened his door, expecting to find an invited guest. The three armed men then pistol whipped Faye Ronaldson (65), and forced her into the house. The men fled when she grabbed her own firearm while they were in the bedroom, and fired at them. On the weekend, a Bothasville farmer was shot and seriously wounded when two or three men ambushed him and his family when they returned home on Sunday night. Hennie Louwrens returned fire, only realising later that he had been shot in the abdomen.

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
  • Elias Kekana (24) was arrested at Temba, Hammanskraal, the very next day. The handbag, credit cards and some of the other stolen items were also recovered.
  • Neo Josiah Pine (39) was arrested a few days later. Blood belonging to the deceased was found on his overall.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • Both accused were indicted in the Transvaal High Court on 17 August 2000 on counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Kekana was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and 12 years imprisonment for the robbery. Pine received 18 years and 8 years respectively for the two offences. Kekana was also convicted for the illegal firearm and ammunition

Additional Biographical Information:

• Identity Number : 3909260062087
• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes
• Sheila married Peter John Marais on 12/10/1968

Comments by Committee of Inquiry into Farm Attacks, 2003:

• This is a fairly typical case where the victim was attacked at the farm gate.
• Kekana has a long list of previous convictions, mostly theft and burglaries. While in prison he also told a fellow prisoner that he had committed another murder before.
• During an interview the prosecuting state advocate said that there was no indication of a motive other than robbery. This was confirmed by the investigating officer. In fact, during the trial the Court found that the accused went to the farm in order to commit robbery.

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.is/cCMN5
• https://africacheck.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Final-Report-Com...
• https://web.archive.org/web/20071012091652/http://www.matriots.com/...
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 23 2023, 7:40:08 UTC