An elderly woman from General Fick Street, Dan Pienaar in Bloemfontein is in a serious condition in the intensive care unit in Bloemfontein Medi Clinic, after a hammer attack while sleeping peacefully on Saturday afternoon, June 27, 2015 at home.
Nidia Albertse (70), wife of the late Dr. Willie Albertse (who died a year ago) was beaten several times with a hammer on the head.
She is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being assaulted by a robber (24).
The incident happened about 15:00 in General Fick Street while Albertse’s son, Willie jnr. and his wife, Amanda, were also in the house.
Alida Venter, a spokesperson for the Medi-Clinic hospital, said Albertse sustained serious head injuries and was placed on a ventilator.
Charl Hauptfleisch, Albertse’s brother in law, said the man entered through a back door and found Albertse on her bed in her bedroom. According to him, the man struck his sister in law about three times with the hammer on the head before he searched in her closets.
“We are shocked by the incident. It happened in broad daylight. He attacked her while she slept. People should keep their security gates locked,” said Hauptfleisch.
According to him, Willie jnr. and his wife Amanda, temporarily living with his mother, were in their room when they heard the noise. The couple’s two teenage boys were in an apartment in the backyard and were unaware of the incident.
Amanda went to investigate the noise, and when she opened the door, she stared directly in the attacker’s face. The man fled through the back door and was later arrested by the police.
Willie found his mother in a pool of blood on her bed, according to Hauptfleisch.
The attacker, who is believed to be on parole from prison, allegedly broke into two other homes on the same day and the stolen goods were found in a bag in his possession.
A police spokesman said cases of house robbery and assault are under investigation.
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