July 29 2013 - The body of Mrs Claudi Van der Merwe, 33, guest-house manager in Hendrina, was found hidden beneath a water-pipe on a road near Breyten.
Her throat was cut through and there also were two deep stab-wounds in her chest.
Now her six-year-old daughter Anja has been left orphaned, said Chris Du Toit, Mrs Van der Merwe's stepfather - where she has been staying since Anja's birth. Claudia's mother will now apply to adopt Anja because they do not know the name of Anja's biological father. The Afrikaner mom 's body was found by a tractor-driver who was working on the Kromkrans fear alongside the Hendrina/Breyten road, on Saturday-morning around 09h00.
He saw her hands sticking out from beneath the drain-pipe. She was last seen alive when she sent home to personnel at the KLG-guest house for the day and it locked up.
SAPS warrant officer Paul Morkel of the Breyten police at 072 464 6661 or warrant officer Samuel Sibeko at 082 494 4361 can be contacted by anyone who could shed more light on the murder.
Shortly before her body was discovered, the SAPS had also found her abandoned Kia Picanto car, about 1km from the site where she was found.
It appeared as if the person driving it had lost control over the car and crashed it into a ditch: one tyre was flat, there was crash-damage to the front and the police found blood-spatters alongside the car's side and inside the car-boot.
A bloodied fingerprint and a bloodied palmprint also were lifted from the car's car-boot and these are amongst the strong leads being followed up by the police.
A plastic bag was found amongst Mrs Van der Merwe's blood-soaked clothing - it apparently was used to cover up the bleeding chest wounds.
Her empty handbag and wallet were found inside her car and an empty cash-box were also found inside the car. The SAPS also investigate the possibility that the young Afrikaner mom had been raped said SAPS col. Leonard Hlathi of the Mpumalanga SAPS.
The SAPS forensic team also lined foot-prints found next to the abandoned Picanto to very similar ones found at the guest-house.
The SAPS is seeking 'a man" -- (no further physical description was supplied by this dismal newspaper) -- wearing overall pants with shining stripes along its sides.
A 'man' with such pants were seen by an eyewitness in the field next to the Picanto.
http://www.beeld.com/nuus/2013-07-29-lyk-in-waterpyp-gekry
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