More attacks mar the winelands
2009-12-03
Lise Beyers
THE manager of the historic Bellingham Estate in Groot Drakenstein was seriously injured by an attacker in the early hours of Saturday morning. Leon Coetzee had already gone to sleep in his home on the estate, when an intruder gained access to the house through a window. While the perpetrator was searching for valuables, Coetzee woke up and apprehended the man. A scuffle took place during which Coetzee was beaten over the head with a blunt instrument. Despite a serious head injury, he managed to force the man out of the house, but the intruder returned and again a scuffle took place. Coetzee then escaped and sought help at a nearby labourer’s cottage. The police were contacted and a massive manhunt took place for the fugitive. The suspect had left a shoe and a pair of pruning shears on the verandah of the house. This assisted police dogs in tracking him down, and he was apprehended on the farm later that morning. Coetzee has been hospitalised with a fractured skull. Christopher Prins (24) appeared in court this week on charges of attempted murder and house-breaking. He had been visiting a family member who lived at Bellingham earlier on Saturday evening. * In another farm attack, Christian von Palace Kolbatschenko (44) was attacked by three knife wielding men at his luxury home, La Terra de Luc, in Franschhoek. The men gained access to the main homestead on the farm last Saturday afternoon at 16:30, tying Kolbatschenko up and ransacking the house for valuables. The men fled with a large amount of jewellery. According to reports, Kolbatschenko was able to discourage the men from approaching his young son and friends who were elsewhere in the house at the time of the attack. Kolbatschenko is the son of controversial Italian businessman, Vito Palazzolo. No arrests have yet been made. Similarities between this attack and others over the past month in and around Paarl are being investigated.
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