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The case of an elderly woman from Gqeberha who was bludgeoned to death in her cottage over a decade ago has gone cold.
On the 26th of January 2013, 76-year-old Lorraine Shepheard was beaten to death with a short tree stump in her home in Beverley Grove.
Shepheard who was born in Mossel Bay in the thirties was the family matriarch.
Her death sent shockwaves through the community. When the investigation stalled, a R25 000 reward was offered to anyone who could assist in the successful apprehension and conviction of the suspect.
To this day not a single person has come forward with any information and for months after the murder, police made numerous requests for information.
On the day of the murder, it was Shepheard's son-in-law, who lived in the main house of the property on Bendor Street, who discovered the lifeless body of his wife's mother.
The murder weapon was bagged as evidence before nail clippings of the victim were also taken.
Six months after the murder the then Shadow Minister of Police for the Democratic Alliance, Dianne Kohler Barnard, wrote a newsletter in Politicsweb where she stated that the case remained unsolved due to a lack of forensic resources.
According to Barnard, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) informed the Shepheard family that the case could not move forward as the forensic laboratory had no stock of the substances used to extract DNA from nail clippings.
Now, over a decade later, police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu confirmed to Algoa FM News that both the murder weapon and nail clippings were tested for DNA and that there was no link to any suspect.
She said the only DNA found was that of Shepheard.
Colonel Naidu says Shepheard's murder case has since been assigned to a new Investigating Officer, who does not want to be named.
She says this investigator is working closely with the NPA to tie up some loose ends.
Meanwhile, Shepheard's granddaughter, Jessica Geerdes, who is a twin, reached out to Algoa FM News and said it was very frustrating that they still do not have justice for their grandmother.
“My gran was brutally murdered 10.5 years ago in her flat on our property in Kragga Kamma.
"She was beaten in the head and suffered blunt force trauma.
"My gran loved Jesus, she worked in the local homes looking after underprivileged children, said Geerdes.
"She loved her family and we loved and adored her. Still love her, " she added.
Geerdes believes that police had lost interest in the case and wanted the docket to be moved from the Kabega Park police station to Humewood.
She said a fresh set of eyes on the cold docket was all they wanted.
The R25 000 reward is still on offer.
(This article has been amended as we incorrectly stated that Shepheard was the founder of J's Babysitting in Gqeberha.)
