Tragic death of Elizabeth Mc Gregor sparks calls for justice in Lutzville
A woman was beaten to death with a broomstick allegedly by her 62-year-old partner.
They were at their Uitkyk Farm home in Lutzville on Monday when a fight broke out between the suspect and Elizabeth Mc Gregor.
After assaulting her, the suspect reportedly left the victim on the bedroom floor and went to sleep in another room.
Broken Angel’s founder, Bianca du Toit, said: “He beat her with the broom and then killed her in their bedroom. He left her the whole night and he went to sleep in another room, and then the next morning, he went to call the neighbours to show them the body. They told me blood was everywhere in that room.
“He then took the corpse, placed it on a bed, and then covered her with lots of blankets, and started cleaning the floor. One of the neighbours went to call the farmer.
“When they got to the house, the suspect had changed into clean and fresh clothes and he had a bag. It looked like he was going somewhere. The farmer told him to wait for the police and go with them.”
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said Lutzville police received a phone call of a murder that happened at a premises in White City, Koekenaap in Lutzville, on Tuesday at 6.35am.
“On arrival, the body of a 53-year-old woman was found on her bed, she had bruises and her arms were broken. A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the exact time, injuries sustained, and cause of death.
“A 62-year-old man was arrested and will appear in court once charged.”
Du Toit and other anti-gender-based violence (GBV) activists are preparing a petition to keep the suspect in jail.
“The suspect took away a mother of three, one of them is mentally disabled and is wandering around the streets. This is a very sad case. And the suspect must remain behind bars.”
She said the plight of GBV cases has reached five, including that of Carmen Gouws who was killed by someone who was obsessed with her.
“In the Matzikama municipality, five women were killed between October 2023 and this week, including Nadine Klaase. We had femicide on Geraldine Abrahams and Carmen Gouws.
“We hope that this guy won’t get bail and that he will get the same sentence as Calvin Peter, who was convicted last year which is more than 25 years.
“We fully trust the investigating officer who also worked very hard to get justice for Carmen will do the same for Elizabeth.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za