Murder: Afrikaner man Gideon van Zyl, 53, shot, killed at New Germany Nature Reserve, Hillcrest, Pinetown KZN Sun Aug 3 2014
Reported by Mariclair Smit
5 August 2014 -- "THE devastation and sorrow was clearly evident in Julie Graham’s (46) voice as she described the horror she experienced, when she witnessed her partner, Gideon van Zyl (53), being shot and killed during a hijacking in Pinetown on Sunday, 3 August.
The Hillcrest resident’s nightmare unfolded on Sunday evening at approximately 5pm, following a relaxing day at the New Germany Nature Reserve.
They had spent the day at the reserve in the company of a small child Graham had been the caretaker of for several months.
They had stopped at the property on Victory Drive to drop the child off at his home, where his mother was waiting.
The couple was later ambushed when they returned to the vehicle, which was parked in the driveway. “I had just sat down in the passenger side, when one the men approached me.
" I thought he was drunk and was trying to grab my handbag. I still remember trying to talk back. He just kept shouting, “Shut up! Shut up!”, said Graham.
She only realised what was happening when she saw a second man pointing a gun at Van Zyl, who was standing on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
“He backed away from the car and slowly started turning around, when the gunman shot him in the back. He did not resist, he did not provoke them and he did not fight back and that man still shot him,” said Graham.
Graham recalled how she desperately waited for an opportunity to rush to Van Zyl’s side. “I couldn’t get to him until they had driven off, as the gunman held the weapon pointed at me while he was trying to start the vehicle. He only momentarily pointed the gun away from me, towards the gate, when the people from inside the house ran to investigate. The man then started the vehicle and they sped off,” said Graham.
Van Zyl died on scene, despite the efforts of the Ashley Resident’s Neighbourhood Watch (ARNHW) patrollers who performed CPR and the paramedics, who provided advance life support efforts. His son as well as Graham’s two children are also devastated after the incident. ” We were a family. It still feels unreal to us all. I am completely finished and numb. I haven’t slept, because he is not here. I still cannot believe that it happened in broad daylight,” said Graham.
Justin Bosse, chairman of the ARNHW, echoed her sentiments saying, “(violent) Crime seems to be on the increase and residents need to be a lot more vigilant and observant of their surroundings, especially when driving in or out of a driveway.” Graham thanked the ARNHW, SA CAN, community members and the authorities that assisted.
Pinetown SAPS communications officer, Lt Bongumusa Manqele confirmed that police are investigating a case of murder, however, no arrests have been made at this time.
Social media messages have claimed that the vehicle was recovered in Wyebank on Monday morning, but Manqele was unable to confirm the report at the time of publication.
http://highwaymail.co.za/166332/pinetown-hijacking-family-speaks/
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