Farm massacre scene still haunts suspect

THE events that he witnessed when eight people were killed at the Mariental district farm Kareeboomvloer two years ago continue to haunt massacre suspect Gavin Beukes, the High Court heard on Friday.

“I am thinking about the scene because I was there. When I am sleeping I only think about this scene.”These were Beukes’s words to Detective Chief Inspector Sydney Philander on March 14 2005, when Beukes returned to the site of the slayings to point out the scene, the detective testified before Judge President Petrus Damaseb on Friday.Philander gave evidence on his and Beukes’s visit to the farm on the afternoon of March 14 2005.That was eight days after Beukes (25) and his brother, Sylvester Beukes (22), had been arrested at their home at Rehoboth in connection with the killing of the eight people on March 4 to 5 2005.The two brothers, a friend, Stoney Raymond Neidel (30), and the son of the murdered farm owners, Justus Christiaan (‘Shorty’) Erasmus (29), are on trial before Judge President Damaseb.The four charged men face 15 charges, including eight counts of murder.They all pleaded not guilty to all charges when their trial started at the beginning of this month.Except for denying all allegations against him, Erasmus, who is accused of having recruited Sylvester Beukes to kill his parents, gave no further explanation of his plea.Sylvester Beukes also did not give any explanation of his plea.Gavin Beukes, however, said his brother had asked him to accompany him to the farm.Beukes claimed that he was not aware of anything that his brother had planned.At the farm on the afternoon of March 4 2005, he stated, his brother held him at gunpoint and tied him to a security door.”He committed all these offences on his own and forced me to assist him with the loading and transport of the items” stolen from the farm, Beukes said.”The fact that he is my younger brother also made me feel pity for him and made me ponder a lot about whether I should act against him or go to the Police.However, soon after we arrived at our house in Rehoboth and before I could talk to anybody the Police arrested and severely assaulted both of us,” he added.Before they set off for the farm, Beukes also told Philander that a Police officer who took part in his arrest had hit him on his mouth during the arrest.Although more detailed than the plea explanation, notes on the trip to the farm that Philander took appear to indicate that what Beukes told him on that occasion correspond with the outline of his defence that he placed before the court at the start of the trial.At the farm, Philander testified, Beukes showed him a room where he said he and his brother had slept on the Friday evening (March 4 2005) after their arrival at the farm.Beukes also showed Philander a gate where he said his brother had held him and a farmworker at gunpoint and instructed them to stand on their knees, Philander related.Beukes next pointed out a place at a stoep of the main farmhouse where he said his brother had tied him up with a rope, Philander said.He added that Beukes then showed him a room where he said his brother had locked up two farmworkers, one woman and two children, shot them, and set the place on fire.The incinerated remains of five of the massacre victims were found in a gutted outbuilding near the farmhouse.They were a pregnant woman, Hilma Engelbrecht (32), her daughters, Christina Engelbrecht (6) and Regina Gertze (4), her nephew, Deon Gertze (18), and her brother-in-law, Settie Swartbooi (50).The next place to be pointed out by Beukes, Philander said, was a spot between the farmhouse and a nearby dam where Beukes said his brother had shot and killed the farm owner and his wife.The bodies of the farm owners, Justus Christiaan Erasmus Snr and Elzabé Erasmus, both 50 years old, were found in a bedroom at the farmhouse, the court has also heard previously.Both of them had a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head.Also found in the house, where he sat tied up in a chair in another bedroom, also with a gunshot wound to the back of the head, was the eighth victim, Sunnyboy Swartbooi (35), a foreman at the farm.The kitchen door of the farmhouse through which Sylvester Beukes had last taken the foreman into the house was also one of the last features of the scene that Gavin Beukes pointed out to Philander, the detective testified.Philander is scheduled to continue with his testimon tomorrow.Today, there will be an on-site inspection at the farm.When I am sleeping I only think about this scene.”These were Beukes’s words to Detective Chief Inspector Sydney Philander on March 14 2005, when Beukes returned to the site of the slayings to point out the scene, the detective testified before Judge President Petrus Damaseb on Friday.Philander gave evidence on his and Beukes’s visit to the farm on the afternoon of March 14 2005.That was eight days after Beukes (25) and his brother, Sylvester Beukes (22), had been arrested at their home at Rehoboth in connection with the killing of the eight people on March 4 to 5 2005. The two brothers, a friend, Stoney Raymond Neidel (30), and the son of the murdered farm owners, Justus Christiaan (‘Shorty’) Erasmus (29), are on trial before Judge President Damaseb.The four charged men face 15 charges, including eight counts of murder.They all pleaded not guilty to all charges when their trial started at the beginning of this month.Except for denying all allegations against him, Erasmus, who is accused of having recruited Sylvester Beukes to kill his parents, gave no further explanation of his plea.Sylvester Beukes also did not give any explanation of his plea.Gavin Beukes, however, said his brother had asked him to accompany him to the farm.Beukes claimed that he was not aware of anything that his brother had planned.At the farm on the afternoon of March 4 2005, he stated, his brother held him at gunpoint and tied him to a security door.”He committed all these offences on his own and forced me to assist him with the loading and transport of the items” stolen from the farm, Beukes said.”The fact that he is my younger brother also made me feel pity for him and made me ponder a lot about whether I should act against him or go to the Police.However, soon after we arrived at our house in Rehoboth and before I could talk to anybody the Police arrested and severely assaulted both of us,” he added.Before they set off for the farm, Beukes also told Philander that a Police officer who took part in his arrest had hit him on his mouth during the arrest.Although more detailed than the plea explanation, notes on the trip to the farm that Philander took appear to indicate that what Beukes told him on that occasion correspond with the outline of his defence that he placed before the court at the start of the trial.At the farm, Philander testified, Beukes showed him a room where he said he and his brother had slept on the Friday evening (March 4 2005) after their arrival at the farm.Beukes also showed Philander a gate where he said his brother had held him and a farmworker at gunpoint and instructed them to stand on their knees, Philander related.Beukes next pointed out a place at a stoep of the main farmhouse where he said his brother had tied him up with a rope, Philander said.He added that Beukes then showed him a room where he said his brother had locked up two farmworkers, one woman and two children, shot them, and set the place on fire.The incinerated remains of five of the massacre victims were found in a gutted outbuilding near the farmhouse.They were a pregnant woman, Hilma Engelbrecht (32), her daughters, Christina Engelbrecht (6) and Regina Gertze (4), her nephew, Deon Gertze (18), and her brother-in-law, Settie Swartbooi (50).The next place to be pointed out by Beukes, Philander said, was a spot between the farmhouse and a nearby dam where Beukes said his brother had shot and killed the farm owner and his wife.The bodies of the farm owners, Justus Christiaan Erasmus Snr and Elzabé Erasmus, both 50 years old, were found in a bedroom at the farmhouse, the court has also heard previously.Both of them had a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head.Also found in the house, where he sat tied up in a chair in another bedroom, also with a gunshot wound to the back of the head, was the eighth victim, Sunnyboy Swartbooi (35), a foreman at the farm.The kitchen door of the farmhouse through which Sylvester Beukes had last taken the foreman into the house was also one of the last features of the scene that Gavin Beukes pointed out to Philander, the detective testified.Philander is scheduled to continue with his testimon tomorrow.Today, there will be an on-site inspection at the farm.