Elderly couple tied up and murdered on farm

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Kimberley - A well-known couple was murdered on their farm Bloubos, between Boshof and Dealesville in the Free State, on the weekend. The bodies of Sakkie van der Berg, 67, and his wife, Ina, 62, were discovered on Saturday morning by a neighbouring farmer. They had been tied up inside the farmhouse. According to Hannes de Jager, the safety co-ordinator for Free State Agriculture, it is suspected that Sakkie was returning to the farm after taking a farmworker home on Friday afternoon, when a number of suspects, who were waiting for him at a farm gate, managed to overpower him. They apparently then accompanied Sakkie and his vehicle to the farmhouse, where they found Ina. The suspects then tied the couple up inside their home, before killing them.

They ransacked the home before fleeing with the couple’s Ford Ranger bakkie, registration number HFS 042 FS, which had by Sunday still not been recovered .

The bodies of the couple were found by a neighbouring farmer on Saturday morning, after the farmworker who Sakkie had to pick up again on Saturday morning raised the alarm when he did not show up.

The farmworker had gone to the neighbouring farmer to ask him to phone Sakkie to find out why he had not shown up. When there was no answer, the farmer and farmworker drove to Bloubos, where they found the couple dead.

De Jager said that while the possible number of suspects who were at the scene was identified by tracks, this information was still confidential as the police investigation was ongoing.

A pathology report will still be conducted this week to determine the exact cause of the deaths.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wendy Nkabi yesterday confirmed that cases of murder, theft of motor vehicle and house robbery were opened following the incident.

“An investigation is taking place to establish what happened. Only one vehicle belonging to the deceased was stolen and no suspects have yet been arrested,” Nkabi said.

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