True Crime South Africa

PODCAST | Death among the wild flowers — The haunting tale of the Nieuwoudtville murders

05 November 2021 - 14:56 By Nicole Engelbrecht
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Only one person was left alive on a farm in the Northern Cape.
Only one person was left alive on a farm in the Northern Cape.
Image: 123RF/Paul Fleet

On September 24 1996, Julia Fairbanks-Smith and her four-year-old daughter Emma joined her friend, Gansie Louw, on her farm Heldersig in Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape. They were there for a short holiday and to enjoy the spectacular blooms of wild flowers in the area. 

Also entering Nieuwoudtville at the same time was a very different group of people. A gang of hardened criminals with gang affiliations were on the prowl, and they had Heldersig in their sights.

By the time the gang left the farm, only one person was alive, and the scene of horror police found when they entered the house was beyond anything most had seen during their careers.

In episode 62 of True Crime South Africa, we delve into this horrific act of senseless violence and try to establish what the motive may have been.  

Listen to the tale here: 

For more episodes, click here.

Community Intervention Centre (24-hour trauma helpline): 082-821-3447

Join the conversation on Twitter at #TrueCrimeSA

E-mail the show: wordsmith195@gmail.com


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now