A grandmother died of shock after being held at gun point and forced to watch as her three terrified nieces were brutally raped in front of her.
The distraught 71-year-old woman was confronted by an intruder in a balaclava who broke into her home.
He locked the three sisters aged 19, 22 and 25 who live with their grandmother in her bedroom and dragged them out one at a time to rape them in the property at Impendle in South Africa.
Police investigating the shocking triple rape attack believe the trauma of helplessly having to witness each individual ordeal caused her heart to give out.
Family spokesperson Mzandwile Ndlovu said:
“The suspect had locked the three girls in their grandmother’s room and he brought them out one-by-one and raped them.
“We found the grandmother in the house but she was already dead and we think that she was so horrified by what she saw in these evil acts that it caused a heart attack.
“The three girls said the suspect did not touch her or harm her so it must be so” he said.
South African police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said:
“An unknown suspect wearing a balaclava forced his way into a home and raped three family members at gunpoint.
“A 71-year-old woman who witnessed the incident collapsed and died and we are appealing for anyone who may have information about the incident to contact the police” she said.
KwaZulu-Natal Social Development Council Member spokesman Nonhlanhla Khoza said:
“We are severely pained by these appalling incidents of rape and murder of our women.
“We have seen a dramatic increase in incident of gender based violence, murder and rape. I urge the public to assist the police with any information that could lead to an arrest.
“These incidents of callous rapes of our women will only come to an end when communities work together with the police and we send our heartfelt condolences to the victims”.
Police Minister Bheki Cele and gender activists have spoken out about the huge surge in gender-based violence against women and children during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The grandmother’s 31-year-old son appealing for witnesses to come forward to catch the perpetrator of the triple rape told TimesLIVE:
“This was a truly horrific act that he did.
“I think my mother died from a heart attack because the perpetrator did not attack her but he did pull my nieces out of a room and raped them one by one in front of her.
“There has been no justice for my nieces who are devastated. In this case the rapist saw my mother collapse from the shock and horror but carried on. Where is the humanity?”