38-year-old Fredeline Stellenbergh, who is in a serious condition in MediClinic George, was stabbed repeatedly in the face, neck, head and arms at about 07:30 by one of two men as she approached a Hyundai minibus parked in a carport next to the house on the corner of Fichat and Watson streets.
A 50-year-old man, believed to be well known to the victim, was arrested less than two hours later driving a white Nissan Hardbody on a gravel road in Groeneweide Park. He was alone in the car.
According to Southern Cape Police spokesperson Captain Bernadine Steyn, a passerby saw Fredeline stumbling outside and collapsing next to the white Yaris parked in the driveway in front of the house. "The police were notified and the victim was rushed to hospital. We were told that the men had fled the crime scene in a Nissan Hardbody and our members on the scene gave a description over the police radio to vigilant Public Order Police (POP) members who arrested one of the suspects at 09:00. He is expected to appear in court soon. The second suspect is still on the run."
Soon after the attack an enterprising George Herald reader posted a November 2010 Google Earth image on the George Herald facebook page of a white Nissan Hardbody parked in the driveway where Fredeline yesterday collapsed. In accordance to Google Earth privacy laws, the faces of a man and a little girl in the image as well as the number plate of the vehicle, are blurred.
A source close to the victim told the George Herald that Fredeline and her husband Carl are going through a bitter divorce. The couple's luck seem to have changed as, less than a decade ago, they won millions in the national lotto. According to the source, following their big windfall, the couple and their children relocated from Parkdene to the house in Watson Street where the attack took place.
The couple, who own George Funeral Services, bought the house, just one block away from Watson's Butchery, from Eve Watson and also own the property next door that they rent out. They are the previous owners of a fish and chips take away in Rosemoor and Carl also farms with pigs in Groeneweidepark.
A Fichat Street resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said she heard screams sometime after 07:00, but that she did not pay it any attention. "Ek het my nie daaraan gesteur nie." She seemed embarrassed by this admittance and retreated to the safety of her house. Another neighbour said she still saw Fredeline in her car returning from her school run to George South Primary at 07:15.
Fredeline has a daughter and Carl a son and a daughter from previous relationships and the couple has two young daughters together, of which the youngest was at home during the incident. Family members came to fetch the child after Fredeline was taken to hospital.
Fredeline's two deeply shocked sisters and her visibly shaken father, who supported himself on a cane, also visited the scene of the crime, but said they "knew nothing". Her youngest sister, Audrey Gelderblom, said the whole scenario was unreal: "Dit voel soos 'n droom."
Anyone with information is requested to contact Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Tonkin at the George Detective Branch on 044 803 4717 or 044 803 4300.
* The George Herald was informed this morning that the second suspect was arrested last night. More information to follow later.
Constable Kammies ("Just call me Kammies") and Southern Cape Police Spokesperson Bernadine Steyn fields questions from journalists at the scene of the crime. Photos: Henrica Veldman
Friends and family members comfort each other in the street in front of the bloody George South crime scene.
ARTICLE: ILSE SCHOONRAAD, GEORGE HERALD EDITOR
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