‘They didn’t have to kill my thief son’
Anzio Leigh Henderson, 23, was allegedly snatched from his home in full view of his family and taken away on Sunday, and when they saw him a few hours later he had been beaten within an inch of his life.
His mother Sharon, 55, says the trouble first started on Saturday when Anzio came home with a table and a chair.
She questioned him about the items which she believed were stolen and they argued.
Brother Bradley, 34, says later that day three men came to the house looking for Anzio, saying he had stolen from them.
“He was not here and I told them here is the stuff and they took it. They came back later and were looking for him and told me they are going to teach him a lesson and make him vrek (kill him),” he says.
“They were driving a white Toyota Hilux bakkie.”
Bradley says on Sunday morning, the bakkie returned and Anzio tried to evade the two men but they allegedly caught him and assaulted him before throwing him in the bakkie and speeding off.
The family says a couple of hours later, they received a call from Philippi police, informing them Anzio had been found badly beaten and dumped on a nearby farm.
Sharon says when they arrived at the scene, they got a fright to see his head, face and entire body badly beaten.
“They bludgeoned him. His head was open and he was bleeding and he had bruises all over,” says the mom.
“We rushed him to the hospital but he died on the way there. He asked for water and then he just died.”
The family say the father of three had been on parole for seven months after serving a nine-month sentence for house-breaking.
“He was out and he was fine. We think he started smoking drugs again but I don’t know what he used,” says Sharon.
“As the family, we are not cross at the people for beating him. We understand that he stole from them and needed to be taught a lesson, but to kill him is something else. He has three children and his girlfriend is also pregnant now and she is distraught.”
Captain FC van Wyk, confirms police are investigating Anzio’s murder and says no arrests have yet been made.
Daily Voice