- Over 300 people joined an online memorial service for Erna Gericke.
- She was murdered on her regular walk through the hills surrounding Barrydale.
- Police have charged two men with her murder.
Over 300 people joined an online memorial service for Erna Gericke, who was murdered on her regular walk through the hills surrounding Barrydale on Human Rights Day.
Her friend, Professor Matilda Burden, told the mourners, gathered online in observance of Covid-19 protocols, that Gericke loved fresh air and the beauty of nature.
She had formed decades-long friendships with her walking partners.
In the initial statement following the incident, the police said the victim's husband, Bremer, reported her as missing to authorities when she did not return home at about 18:00 on 21 March.
A search was launched and her body was found on the path, showing signs of injuries.
At first, police did not suspect that a crime had been committed.
However, smashed glass was found in the parking lot, and her Citroen was later found abandoned in Tradouw Hoek.
Further investigation led to two men from a nearby farm, who were arrested for car theft.
Walk
Netwerk24 reported that her family thought she may have been injured by a falling rock during a solo walk without her cellphone.
The autopsy, however, revealed that Gericke had been shot, and the two men now also face charges of murder. A .303 rifle was also seized.
Burden paid tribute to Gericke as a woman moulded by the Malmesbury and Swartland region, where she grew up.
A former head girl of Hoerskool Swartland, she had showed leadership qualities from early in her life, and went on to always be in service of others.
Burden said she and a friend retraced Gericke's last walk and left flowers, picked from Gericke's garden, at the place where she died.
They also left her beloved fynbos, and made a cairn with pebbles next to the path in her honour.