Kriek screamed for help, but by the time another resident who lives nearby arrived on the scene, she was already dead. Netwerk24 spoke to the man who came upon the scene, Stefan Oosthuizen. He says he was in the shower around 08:45 when he heard a scream.
“I quickly got out, got dressed and went to check. She was lying on her back in the street in a pool of blood with stab wounds to her neck. Her Bible was lying about a metre away from her. There was also a knife with a plastic handle lying next to her. It was broken in half. I tried to call the police, but couldn’t get through. Then I called Marius Swanepoel from the Groenpunt and Oranje-Kloof City Improvement District, who called the authorities.”
Oosthuizen says Eaton Lane has long been a concern for residents because it has become a “crime hotspot”. The pastor at the NG Kerk Tamboerskloof, Karen Botes, has also paid tribute to Kriek, who had a special seat reserved in church with a cushion to sit on.
“She was an institution in the congregation. That morning, I told the organist that it was going to be a quiet morning, Aunt Vlekkie wasn’t even here. Little did I know that she had been dead for an hour. We are very upset and sad, and also concerned for the safety of our members.”
The manager of the Monte Rosa nursing home, Pieter Smit, said Kriek lived there for 10 years and was a beloved resident.
“She loved taking pictures of people and developing the pictures for them. She would never keep them to herself, she would hand out the pictures. She was almost completely deaf. She loved going to church. We are really sad to lose a resident in this way. Our only consolation is that she went that morning to feel the Lord’s presence in church. Then she went straight to Him.”
Kriek is survived by a sister, Elsabe de Beer, from Hermanus.
Police have appealed to anyone with information on the murder to call the Stop Crime number on 08600 10111 or to use the MySAPS mobile application anonymously.
