Bloemfontein – Two men stabbed a 40-year-old farm manager to death and allegedly raped his wife at their home on a farm outside Ladybrand in the Free State, police said on Tuesday.

The couple had returned home when the two men pounced and attacked them, before using twine to tie them to a fence, spokesperson Warrant Officer Loraine Earle said.

They demanded money and the keys to the couple's vehicle.

"Both husband and wife had already sustained stab wounds by this time and the husband said the wife should give them what they want. The suspects took her to the house.

"One stayed outside and one went into the house with her, where he allegedly raped her."

According to Earle, the wife escaped and went to find help, while the perpetrators fled the scene in their car. They took the couple's bank cards and cellphones.

"The perpetrators lost control over the vehicle about one [kilometre] from the farm and left the vehicle and cellphones inside of the car. They fled on foot," said Earle.

The wife is recovering at a local hospital in Ladybrand and her husband died at the scene.