It’s a sad state of affairs that there are probably a number of cases running through your mind right now. One that you might not be all that familiar with is Fanie du Preez, who stands accused of shooting dead his wife Thea and their two children.

Today saw Fanie’s first day in court, the 39-year-old appearing at the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court. Over to News24 for some background:

He is facing charges of premeditated murder for shooting dead Thea, 43, and their children Carlia, 17 and Phillip, 14, late last week. He has blamed drug lords for the murders at his house at night, saying he was in the garage at the time of the shootings. His daughter was reportedly shot six times and found with a cellphone in her hand.

Whilst his wife’s parents believe in his innocence Thea’s sister Riana Coertzer has a different take:

“We were his family for 20 years… we socialised together; we genuinely had good times together…

I don’t understand this… How does a normal man with a normal life and two great children end up in a hole like this?”

The matter has now been postponed until tomorrow so that Fanie can be provided with legal aid.

[source:news24]