It was a day of unspeakable agony for three siblings, all dressed in black, who looked on as their father entered the dock in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court charged with the murder of their mother.
Moments after Colin “Junior” Kannemeyer’s brief appearance on Tuesday, they spoke fleetingly to him in the court’s holding cells, but many of their questions about their mother’s death were left unanswered.
The encounter brought to a head a traumatic week for the grieving family after Kannemeyer, 57, allegedly killed his estranged wife, well-known real estate agent Cheryl-Ann Kannemeyer, in a knife attack on Wednesday last week.
The former owner of the Blue Note nightclub in Gelvan Park, who was arrested the next day after being treated for suspected self-inflicted injuries, abruptly abandoned his bid for bail on Tuesday.
Due to a number of health conditions, recent surgery, and needing time to recover after allegedly turning the knife on himself, it was decided that he be held in the hospital wing of St Alban’s prison.
He was remanded until his next court appearance on February 20, with the matter postponed for further investigations.
Police had arrived at the bloody scene outside the Beetlestone Road, Gelvandale, home the couple had once shared to find the body of Cheryl-Ann, 61, in the driver’s seat of her silver Honda Jazz at about 12.50pm last Wednesday.
Though the postmortem report is still outstanding, police said Cheryl-Ann had sustained multiple stab wounds to her chest, a gash to her throat, and a rope was found around her neck.
Kannemeyer, who had several stab wounds to his upper body, was slumped in the back seat. A knife, believed to have been the murder weapon, was found near him.
The couple had been married for 35 years, but Cheryl-Ann had, according to her family, recently informed them that she wanted a divorce and had moved out of their marital home.
She had returned that fateful day to collect some of her belongings.
In a blink of an eye, we’ve lost both a mother and a father. We’re dealing with a lot. The kids want their grandmother and we have to answer difficult questions from them. But we’re doing our best to keep it together
— Dexter Kannemeyer
The Kannemeyers’ eldest child, Dexter, broke down in tears inside and outside the courtroom, visibly overcome by grief.
“All I want is justice for my mother,” he told journalists.
His younger brother, Blake, and sister, Jodi, stood close by — they, too, visibly feeling the crushing weight of the tragedy. They were surrounded by about a dozen family members and supporters, dressed in black.
In court, Kannemeyer wore a black jersey, and though he appeared composed, avoided eye contact with his children and other family members seated in the public gallery as he clutched a few items of clothing.
He did not appear to be in any pain or discomfort, standing and sitting in the dock when asked to do so by court officials before being led back down to the holding cells.
Dexter later said the family was gutted by the tragic events.
“In a blink of an eye, we’ve lost both a mother and a father,” he said. “We’re dealing with a lot. The kids want their grandmother and we have to answer difficult questions from them. But we’re doing our best to keep it together.”
Hours after the killing, Dexter told The Herald that Cheryl-Ann, who had three grandchildren, had allegedly endured many years of abuse but, being a devout Christian, was averse to filing for divorce, until much later.
“My mom stayed with me for [over] a week before the terrible incident,” Dexter said at the time, recalling how his mother had returned to her home to collect the rest of her belongings when the horrific incident unfolded.
“[She] confided in us that she was finally filing for divorce. Whether this has any bearing on his actions, I cannot confirm.”
The 34-year-old, who finds himself charting a career in real estate like his late mother, said it was a relief his father had decided to abandon bail.
Afterwards, the siblings were given an opportunity to come face-to-face with him for the first time since their mother’s death.
Asked what they had spoken about, Dexter said: “It was brief, with many questions left unanswered.
“It truly was [tough] but we have every faith that the law will take its course and justice will prevail. I think he did the right thing [to abandon bail]. As it was my first face-to-face encounter with him, I wanted to know why he [allegedly] killed our mother.
“Sadly, I left without [any] answers. We’re [now] hoping that through the justice system, our many questions can be answered.”
He said together with his siblings and the rest of the family, he would miss Cheryl-Ann’s love for life.
“Her positivity, her love for the Lord, us as her children and grandchildren, were everything she loved.
“We are far from closure, our healing is yet to begin, and our focus now is on giving our mother the dignified burial and celebration of life that she so deserves.”
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