Stephanus Petrus Rademeyer

Stephanus "Steve" Rademeyer (1929 - 2007)

Brief overview:

Steve (78), from Schweizer-Reneke, was hacked and stabbed to death, on 22nd February 2007. The elderly farmer who was attacked with a shovel and stabbed several times in front of his 85-year-old wife, Engela, on Friday evening. He had survived a major ear operation due to cancer two weeks ago.

Steve died on the living room carpet after two attackers with balaclavas beat him severely over the head and body with one of the couple's shovels. He was also stabbed several times with an unknown object, Supt. Louis Jacobs, police spokesman, said.

Engela had her hands and feet tied, after which she was dragged to the safe to unlock it. Her husband's killers escaped with only a revolver, a mobile phone and some money and food.

Pieter Rademeyer, the couple's son, said it was as if the attackers were on a mission to kill his father. "I cannot describe the barbarism to you in words. It's sad, man. It's so unnecessary. So pointless."

Engela struggled for about two hours to free her feet and called neighbours for help. She cut her feet free with a bread knife with which the attackers threatened her. Before she could call, she had to pick up different parts of the phone and put them together, as the attackers had thrown it off the table.

Supt. Jacobs said that it is not certain how the miscreants got into the house shortly after 19h00. There was no sign of forced entry.

According to a neighbour of the Rademeyers, they were very safety conscious. Even if Mr. Rademeyer walked around the farm during the day, he locked his wife in the house.

Rademeyer Jr. said people would say his parents should not have stayed alone on the farm at their age, but according to him, so many people are killed in towns and cities these days that it is not necessarily safer.

This is the first farm murder in a very long time in this area. "My father had cancer a few times and beat it each time. Just last Monday, he had a major ear operation during which a tumor was removed and reconstruction was done. He was always so cheerful about his illness," said Rademeyer jr.

Engela had abrasion marks on her hands and feet where she was tied. Her son said she was fine under the circumstances.

The couple farmed on the farm, Weltevrede, for most of their lives.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• 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
• 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:

• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes
• Stephanus married Engela Carolina Maria Elizabeth (born van Tonder) on 07/05/1960

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.ph/8cxSP
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000187546109923
• https://graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=4295633