- Two people have been arrested for allegedly killing seven people at a farm in Kestell.
- They were arrested on Friday, hours after the brutal incident.
- Police also recovered two firearms and a stolen bakkie.
News24 in Kestell - Hardly 24 hours after a woman, her son and five employees were murdered, a team of Free State police experts arrested the suspects.
Sesi Smit, her son Rudy Binda, 17, and her five female employees were killed at her Lismore farm in Kestell on Friday.
The victims were aged between 17 and 53.
Smit was also robbed of her Ford Ranger. Police swiftly responded and sent a team of experts to the scene. They combed the area and followed some positive leads. Police first recovered the stolen bakkie on the road between Kestell and Bethlehem.
Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said the murders happened between 09:00 and 10:00.
Makhele said the suspects were arrested on Friday.
“Police responded to the scene around 10:00. They found seven lifeless bodies inside the house. Some bodies had visible gunshot wounds. We later discovered other bodies had sustained stab wounds.
“An unconfirmed number of people attacked them. A team of Crime Intelligence officers, organised crime unit and other operational components worked around the clock to comb through the scene.”
The forensic team worked throughout the night.
By 13:00 on Saturday, police forensic experts were at the scene collecting critical evidence.
“It was a bloody scene. Three bodies were found in one room. Three others were lying in separate rooms. Rudy’s body was found in a room upstairs. Walking into the house, you are met by the bloodbath," said Makhele.
“Within 24 hours, we managed to crack the case. We have arrested two suspects, aged 22 and 32. They were arrested at Bohlokong. They were found in possession of a shotgun and a pellet gun. We believe the firearms could have been stolen from the farm. We are investigating if any of the firearms could have been the murder weapon.”
Police are awaiting postmortem results to determine the cause of death.
Makhele said for the past 12 months, police have managed to combat farm attacks.
“Our analysts will determine if this incident is linked to other violent crimes in the country. From face value, this was a pure robbery. This crime is one of those where people stormed the house with the intention to rob,” Makhele said.
The suspects are expected to appear in court facing seven counts of murder, robbery, and possession of unlicensed firearms.