Despite the police saying that they have put their best people on the case, we have seen suspects come and go, potential murder weapons discovered and then forgotten.

The sick individual who committed this crime HAS to be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“The chances are good that they made her suffer and watched her suffering,” said criminologist Anni Hesselink. “They must have enjoyed seeing her like that.”

According to Hesselink, the manner in which Anika was murdered and left is directly related to the murderer’s characteristics.

“The purpose of his/her/their visit was to hurt her,” said Hesselink.

“If it was one person, it is an extremely dangerous person. Because if one is capable of doing all those things (murdering her, presumably raping her and cutting off her hands), one has to be abnormal and psychopathic.

Hesselink went on to say that Anika must have known her murderer and let them in the house.

This is not the sort of person we want to have in our society!

Someone out there knows, or suspects they know who committed this disgusting crime.

I encourage that person to contact the police – even anonymously – and give Anika’s family and friends get some sort of peace, closure and answers.

Even if you are wrong, know that you have done the right thing!

UPDATE:

There is going to be a candlelight vigil outside Anika’s parents home.

Please bring a white, red or pink rose or lilly as well as a white candle to burn in memory of Anika.

Address:

40 Jakkals Street, Theresapark (North of Pretoria)

When:

TODAY (10th March) from 17h00.

Both Annika’s parents will be present.

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Way back in May, her ex-boyfriend, Nico Venter, was arrested by the police. He was then released on R10 000 bail. This left relatives and friends angry and unhappy.

Johan Smit was a bit more down-to-earth. When commenting on the bail, he said:

“People say you are innocent until the court finds you guilty. I assume if he has not been convicted yet, I must accept the court’s decision”.

We discovered that Nico Venter was questioned by police on March 12 and that later in March he was asked to go back to the police offices. On legal advice he refused and was arrested later that day. He was later released to appear in court.

The following day we are told that the police are searching for a second suspect. They did not name the suspect or provide any other information. Now, months later, a second arrest is yet to be forthcoming.

A week or so later on March 21 it was reported that super-sleuth Brigadier Piet Byleveld had been called in by local police to assist in the case. He has not discussed why he was being brought into the case.

What is strange to me is that Nico Venter was granted bail and then Piet Byleveld is brought in on the case. I have a number of questions:

Surely someone suspected of commiting such a gruesome murder would have bail denied?

Why is Byleveld being brought in AFTER the arrest if they have their man?

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These terrible things got so much worse when South Africa stopped using the death penalty.

Some Arguments for the Death Penalty

- Some argue that the death of a criminal gives closure to their victim’s (if they are still alive) and their families.

- The death penalty serves as a deterrent to criminals who may be considering committing a capital offence.

- One of the main principals of punishment and the judicial system is that the penalty fits the crime. If someone violently murders another individual or numerous people, then it makes sense for the punishment to be death.

- Some anti-death penalty campaigners describe examples of people on death row, or people have already been killed have then been proved innocent. Today, the accuracy of modern forensics and DNA testing makes it very unlikely for an innocent person to be put on death row. Furthering this point, it is argued that the number of innocent people that may be killed is equalised by the number of actual criminals that are set free.

- Putting people in prison, as opposed to executing them gives them a chance of parole (or the small chance of escape), meaning they can commit more crimes. Capital punishment means there is no chance of the criminal committing another crime.

Some Arguments Against the Death Penalty

- The financial cost of putting people to death, once you consider extra appeals, additional procedures etc, can often be more than the cost of putting a criminal in prison for life.

- The death penalty is “cruel and unusual”

- It is simply immoral and barbaric to allow people to be killed by the state even if they have committed violent crimes.

- The appeals and additional procedures required to deal with criminals that have been condemned to death fill up the legal system which could be put to better use.

- It can be viewed that, life in prison with little freedom and poor quality of life is a better punishment and deterrent to criminals than death row.

- There is always the possibility that innocent men and women are put to death without ever having committed a crime. There will always be failings in the judicial and conviction system.

The problem with not having a death penalty is that there is no real alternative punishment. Criminals received almost a slap on the wrist these days. In Durban a few years ago, a man murdered three old ladies in their home. He received eight years, which means he was probably out and walking the streets in less than four years. Is this justice?

I feel that in light of the massive increase in murder and violence, that we should be debating and considering the use of the death penalty again!

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What does this silence mean?

Well it could be that the police are still waiting for the crime labs to process all the evidence. It is well known that these labs are notoriously slow in getting results, generally because they are so overworked and understaffed.

Another conclusion could be that the police are absolutely clueless about the identity of the killer. This doesn’t surprise me, as it seems as though the police only get speedy results if the killer hangs around waiting to get picked up (a la the E.T. killers).

What worries me is that the longer we go without answers, the greater chance there is that the police will just try to pin this on a suspect without much evidence to back it up.

It seems that the media is also strangely silent about this. Despite the later E.T. murder, one would think that they would at least mention this case in passing!

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