West Coast town of Darling rocked by savage murder and rape, one of six in the area

Leslie Solomons sister of Perchiaan Solomons from Darling, Cape town talk about the rape that left her sister confined to a wheelchair. Perchiaan was brutally raped in 2015 that left her paralyzed in both legs and right arm. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)

By Vincent Cruywagen

5 Nov 2020

The community of Darling, world renowned for its spring flowers and situated about 80km outside Cape Town, is reeling following the brutal rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman.

The body of Willemiena Williams, 19, was discovered around 3am on Monday 2 November 2020 in the backyard of a house on 9th Avenue.

The victim had previously lodged a charge of rape with SAPS in August but had withdrawn the complaint.

The teen sustained fatal stab wounds to her torso and her abdomen was slit open. This is one of at least six reported rapes in the area, including that of a five-year-old child, since October this year. It is the first murder case.

Community leader Archie Mbhele (left) with grieving family, Siena Williams, mother, Fransiena Sias, cousin, and Hendrik Jantjies, uncle, at their home in Darling, Cape Town. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)

The deceased’s devastated mother, Siena Williams, 52, could only manage to say: "I was just told that my child was murdered, I went to the scene and saw her lying there...” before she trailed off sinking into a couch, tears streaming down her face, her hands trembling.

The murder of Willemiena is reminiscent of the brutal rape and slaying of 17-year-old Anene Booysen in February 2013 in Bredasdorp. Anene was raped, disembowelled and left for dead on a construction site.

Archie Mbhele, chairperson of the Darling Action Group, said a truck driver doing deliveries around 3am on Monday 2 November had noticed a suspicious person carrying an unidentified object slung over his shoulder.

The driver followed the man and witnessed him turning into the yard on 9th Avenue, where he dumped what turned out to be Willemiena’s lifeless body before fleeing the scene, Mbhele said.

The driver stopped, found Willemiena’s lifeless body and called the police.

SAPS spokesperson Andre Traut confirmed that Darling police had responded to a complaint regarding a stabbing incident at 9th Avenue. There they found the body.

The motive for the brutal murder and mutilation of the young woman is unknown.

A man was arrested a few hours later at 6.15am on the same day and is yet to appear in court.

Willemiena’s cousin, Fransiena Sias, 28, told Maverick Citizen that the suspect had allegedly raped Willemiena about four months ago.

“She opened the case but later withdrew it. She was very scared of him. I last saw her alive on Friday 31 October when she went to Pep Stores,” she said.

Sias said that Willemiena regularly overnighted with an Aunty Ragel.

“But on Monday morning around 3am someone frantically knocked on my door and when I opened, the woman told me the body of Willemiena is lying in a backyard. She didn’t deserve to die like this.”

Leslie Solomons, sister of Perchiaan Solomons from Darling, talks about the rape that left her sister confined to a wheelchair. Perchiaan was brutally raped in 2015, which left her paralysed in both legs and the right arm. (Photo: Vincent Cruywagen)

The incident has also cruelly ripped open old wounds for 23-year-old Leslie Solomons and brought back horrible memories of her sister Perchiaan Solomons, 18, who was brutally raped, assaulted and left for dead five years ago (2015).

Perchiaan was set alight and had cigarette burns on both her legs, which today remain as a reminder that her sister had miraculously escaped death, said Solomons.

Recounting the events in an interview with Maverick Citizen, Solomons said: “Perchiaan was brutally raped in 2015. She couldn’t walk and managed to crawl until her nephews saw her. She was in terrible pain and they called her mother.

“She struggled a lot and suffered from mental illness. In the hospital her condition quickly deteriorated and she became paralysed in both her legs and the right arm. She was forced to use her left hand, but later she became used to it. The saddest part is that her womb was removed,” she said.

While the family did not talk about the incident, the spate of rapes in the area had reopened an old wound and brought back horrific memories.

Another 38-year-old woman, also from the area, and who survived an attempted rape in the early hours of Monday 12 October 2020, told Maverick Citizen she was asleep in her bed when she was woken up by someone attempting to remove her clothing.

“I grabbed the hand of the attacker and he tried to jump underneath the bed. I jumped out and switched on the light. I saw this drunk guy sitting in the corner of the room. I took out a knife and told him if he moves that I will stab him,” she said.

She managed to call neighbours, who alerted the police. The drunk suspect was arrested after he had passed out on the bed.

Mbhele said the spike in rapes and serious crimes committed in this popular rural area and holiday destination could be attributed to alcohol abuse and the increased number of dealers selling tik (methamphetamine) in the area.

“We suspect that a group of people is involved in the rapes committed in the area. In one of the incidents in October 2020, an adult woman who was under the influence was raped and sodomised by three unknown assailants whose faces were covered.”

The rape survivor had been unable to identify any of her attackers.

“The scourge of alcohol abuse and selling of tik needs to be rooted out before we can secure a safe environment for women and children,” Mbhele said. DM/MC

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