A Police investigation has revealed that a woman who went missing on Sunday 21 March 2021, after she went hiking in the vicinity of Rondomskrik, Barrydale was in fact murdered and her vehicle stolen.
The 66 year old Erna Gerecke’s body was found between 02:00 and 03:00 on the morning of Monday, 21 March 2021 by members of the search party, that included the missing person’s daughter. She was discovered a few kilometers from the parking area of the Waterval walking trail.
Mrs Gericke and her husband Bremer retired at Barrydale. Bremer Gericke was the minister at the Stellenberg NG Church, Bellville from 1981-2017.
Mrs Gericke was found on Monday in the early morning hours. Her vehicle was also missing and was later found abandoned in Tradouwshoek. The Police did follow up investigations and arrested two suspects, one after the other, on a farm in the vicinity.
The post mortem revealed that Mrs Gericke was shot with a large calibre firearm in her arm and that she bled to death as a result. The Police subsequently investigated further and recovered a 303 calibre rifle with which Mrs Gericke was shot.
The suspects appeared in court on Wednesday on a charge of motor vehicle theft and will appear again in court on Thursday for the murder charge to be added.
Read the initial SAPS report: Missing Barrydale woman’s body discovered along hiking trail
