Police are investigating a case of murder and one of attempted murder at Marina da Gama after a night of bloodshed at an elderly couple’s home.
At 3.30am on Saturday October 17, 71-year old William Carter was found in his garden with a gunshot wound to his stomach, according to the police.
Inside the Uitsig Road home, the body of his wife, 65-year-old Frances Carter, was found on her kitchen floor, with stab wounds to her head and back.
Mr Carter is recovering in a private hospital, said Captain Stephen Knapp, spokesperson for Muizenberg police station.
According to a weekend paper, Mr Carter reported that two men had attacked him and his wife in their home, and that he had been shot in a scuffle for the gun. A police diver searched the water behind the couple’s home for a weapon.
Provincial police spokesman Colonel Andre Traut, said police investigators were trying to piece together the circumstances leading up to the incident.
Muizenberg police spokesman Captain Stephen Knapp said on Monday that no arrests had been made as yet.
Ross Campbell, of ER24, said paramedics arrived on the scene at 4.33am along with Metro EMS and police had directed them to the kitchen where they had found Mrs Carter.
“She had suffered knife wounds to the head and back and showed no signs of life. She was declared dead on arrival,” he said.
Mr Carter had been found lying outside, to the side of the house, with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, in a critical condition.
According to Mr Carter, it was only later in hospital that he learnt his wife of 26 years was dead.
The incident has rocked the usually quiet suburb, with social-media posts reflecting the horror and shock of the violent attack.
Shafeeqa Kolbe-Harris said on a post by the Voice of the Cape about the murder that she lived in the same road, and that although she was a light sleeper, she had heard nothing, no gunshot, no screams.
“So many cars blocked the very quiet road, RIP to my neighbour,” she said.
The False Bay Echo approached the Marina da Gama Association for comment. The association said they cannot comment on what happened but expect a public statement from SAPS when it has finished its investigation.
“What we can say is that as a community, we are shocked and saddened by the incident. All our security service providers will continue their good work in the Marina.
As far as extra security measures: there are several new initiatives under way currently. However, we do not believe it is prudent to put security measures we are busy with into the public domain.”
The Uitsig Neighbourhood Watch deputy chairperson Karen Bruckner said the marina was normally a quiet area and in her 15 years of living in the area she had never known of a murder. Crime when it did happen tended to be of a petty or opportunistic crime.
There was 24-hour security in Uitsig so the incident had raised many questions, she said.
Muizenberg’s Detective Constable Monray Hoftsander is investigating this case. He can be contacted at 079 894 1582.
