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- Police say preliminary investigations revealed “a different version” of events to which a farmer initially reported an attack on his home in Kroonstad.
- The farmer is accused of shooting and killing three suspects Thursday after they broke into his facility and stabbed him in the head and neck.
- The farmer’s lawyer says he has not changed his version and that he acted in self-defense.
A Free State farmer who shot and killed three apparent intruders in his home after he was stabbed in the head and neck was charged with murder, police confirmed Friday.
This was after preliminary investigations revealed a “different version of the incidents” the farmer initially gave, police spokesman Brigadier Motansi Makhele said.
But the defendant’s attorney told News24 that his client’s version had not changed and that the shooting was in self-defense.
The 37-year-old farmer, who lives alone in Boskoppie in Kroonstad, was at his residence when four intruders broke in when he opened his door at around 7:20 on Thursday, Makhele said previously.
Makhele also initially reported that the farmer was overpowered and stabbed in the neck and head, before he managed to grab his firearm and fire multiple shots, killing three of his attackers.
Another suspect fled the scene.
Developments
News24 does not name the farmer because he has now been charged and is expected to appear in Kroonstad Magistrates Court on three counts of murder on Monday.
“As a result of these events, he had to be brought in for questioning, which led to the conclusion that he was detained while the forensic team will work hard at the scene starting today to collect more evidence,” Makhele said.
The farmer’s attorney, FC Schilling, told News24 that he was still hospitalized and under police surveillance.
Makhele said it was standard rule of law to press murder charges when there were suspicions that someone violated the law, using self-defense as a motive for retaliation.
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He said the outcome of further investigations, such as autopsies and other forensic investigations, would guide them on whether to press charges other than murder.
In a twist, Makhele revealed that two men and a woman, all in their twenties, had been arrested and charged, among others, with conspiracy to commit a crime.
Schilling told News24 that these suspects were arrested after the farmer brought charges against them.
Self defense
He added that they were going to fight and request bail on the grounds that the peasant was defending himself when he shot and killed the three who entered his house.
Schilling added that the Bloemfontein Farm Murder Organized Crime unit was investigating the matter.
The lawyer said that although some of the facts were sub judice, because they had not yet presented the facts to the court, they were sure that the version given by the farmer had not changed, challenging the preliminary findings of the police.
“I really don’t know where (the police) come from to say that their version is not what it was initially. That is not correct,” he added.
Schilling said it was important to note that the other three suspects arrested for conspiracy to commit a crime were arrested separately and not with the farmer.
They were also expected to appear in Kroonstad Magistrates Court on Monday.
“[He is appearing] for murder, which we will end up posing as ultimate self-defense, ”said the lawyer.
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