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“It was instinct – I just knew she was no more. I knew she was dead.”
That was the chilling testimony of Theresa van Rensburg, a former staff nurse at St John’s Stella Londt retirement village in Sundridge Park, Gqeberha.
She was one of the first people who discovered two elderly people dead on the morning of 10 October 2019.
Van Rensburg, who has since left South Africa, told the court she had known both victims- Rosemary Langton, 87, and her friend Agnes Burns, 91.
Taking the stand on Wednesday, Van Rensburg also told the court she knew the main accused and alleged mastermind in the matter, Nomgebisi Slangveld, who worked as a caregiver at the home at the time.
Slangveld, along with four co-accused, face eight charges, including robbery with aggravated circumstances.
Though at times emotional, Van Rensburg appeared confident on the stand.
She had flown into South Africa to give her testimony and was later seen clutching two luggage bags outside court.
Van Rensburg did not specify to which country she had relocated to.
“Yes, I knew both [victims],” she said. “Mrs Burns occupied room 19 and Mrs Langton was in room 21.”
She would discover both women died during their 6 am check-up time.
“What did you find?,” state prosecutor Marius Stander probed.
“When I opened the door [room 21], the room was in shambles. I couldn’t see Mrs Langton's body, but I noticed her grey hair sticking out of the duvet.
“I knew something was terribly wrong.”
Van Rensburg said Langton was lying on her tummy. She said she could immediately tell Langton was dead.
“It was instinct,” she told the court. “I just knew she was no more.
“I ran down the stairs and called the matron, the police and Atlas [security company].”
Van Rensburg said when the matron arrived, they went back up the stairs to check on Burns.
“I saw that she had been pulled down to the middle of the bed."
“And it was instinct again that we just knew that she was also dead,” said Van Rensburg.
“At that time it was too much for me and I was taken downstairs.”
Later on Wednesday, Warrant Officer Sherwin Welsh corroborated parts of Van Rensburg’s testimony.
Welsh said Burns had been found with feet tied with a bra and that a sock had been forced into her mouth and a cotton belt tied over her mouth and around her head.
He said Langton was also found with a sock in her mouth, with her hands and feet tied up.
Slangveld, together with her four co-accused, namely Mkuseli Damaneti, Akhona Mneba, Luxolo Kruisjan, and Nyasha Manyange, appeared to listen attentively to the witnesses.
They allegedly stole the victims’ valuables, including cell phones, jewellery and Kruger Rands.
