Farm murders have been holding headlines in SA for a while now, but this one’s a little different.

Louw’s Creek, a small farming town in Mpumalanga, stays divided as two men were left for dead at the gate of Boondocks farm a few weeks ago.

But before we get into it, a little history from Times Live:

The story goes back more than 40 years to when the Von Johnston and the Tonetti families lived happily side-by-side on neighbouring farms. The friendship between the old colonial families, who descended from WWII Italian prisoners of war and German aristocrats, remained strong until recently when a fence was erected between their farms.

Members of the Louw’s Creek community say that the fence created problems between Johnston and Tonetti, “pitting the families against each other with accusations of wildlife theft and angry emails and SMSs being exchanged”.

The bloodshed took place just after 7AM as Luke von Johnston, 66, and the manager of his farm, John Khoza, 72, were killed by the “self defence” shooting from neighbour and so-thought friend, Mark Norris, 39.

Norris allegedly fired 11 shots, five at Khoza, who is believed to have been running to the farmstead to raise the alarm as shots were fired. Johnston’s body, on the other hand, was found outside his bakkie, with a shot through his right temple, chest, shoulders and back.

This is after what was meant to be a discussion about the fence that Norris erected between the farms:

The three were meant to have met to discuss the fence that Norris had erected and apparently wanted Von Johnston to pay for in part, and about transferring giraffe to the side from which they had originally come.

Norris handed himself over to police right after the incident and was taken to Barberton regional Court to appear on two counts of murder that would later be withdrawn by prosecutors.

Sergeant Gerald Sedibe from Mpumalanga police had this to say:

‘It’s only a provisional withdrawal. There are certain things that are outstanding, that the prosecutors say we must get. They include reports on ballistic tests.’

Norris is keeping his mouth shut for the time being – good advice from his lawyer.

Von Johnston, a philanthropist who helped to preserve some of the Louw’s Creek colonial buildings, was also an avid adventurer, having sailed across the Atlantic twice. His death hit hard for many:

The withdrawal of charges has split the town’s residents, with some saying Norris could never have committed such a crime and others demanding that Norris be arrested.

For now, the town remains divided, with Johnston’s former best friend, Colin du Toit, saying:

“No one can make sense of it. Even the police don’t seem to have answers to what happened at the gate.”

Hmmm, rings a bell.

[source:timeslive]