The case against Anelle de Bruin (46), the wife of a well-known Eastern Cape farmer, who is accused of planning to kill him in a fictitious “farm attack”, was postponed by the Aliwal North magistrate’s court.
The accused was taken into custody on January 9 and is now facing charges of conspiracy to murder.
She made a brief appearance on Wednesday, and because some statements, photo albums, and cellphone records are still pending, the prosecution requested the postponement for additional investigations.
Tip-off from middleman
De Bruin was arrested after police received a tip-off from a middleman that she had allegedly approached to find hitmen to kill her 56-year-old husband, Johan.
She allegedly told the middleman to kill Johan along with anyone who stood in the way on 8 January. However, police arrived that evening and arrested De Bruin.
Her husband of 15 years expressed shock, stating that they had no marital issues and he was confused as to why she would want him dead.
According to police investigations, the woman had already handed the middleman a down payment and promised to pay the remainder after the murder was executed and insurance payouts were made.
It is alleged that she stood to inherit more than R50 million in the event of her husband’s death.
Matter returns to court on April 23
She was allegedly recorded instructing that after shooting her husband at their farm, the hitmen must shoot the family’s dogs and vehicle tyres to make it look like a “farm attack”.
De Bruin had allegedly also informed the middleman of how long neighbouring farmers would take to respond to the attack.
The matter will be back in court on April 23, with the accused still out on R2 000 bail, with special conditions that she does not return to the farm and have supervised visits of their children.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, said the NPA seriously pursues cases of this nature, which affect the safety and wellbeing of communities, to ensure justice for victims of crime.
