In the attempted murder, abuse GBV and kidnapping case involving a frail 81-year-old woman, the Welkom Magistrate’s Court has granted Lynette Brummer, accused number one, R5 000 bail.
Brummer has been granted bail under strict terms. She may not go near the Silver Village Assisted Living Facility in Welkom, she may not interfere with, intimidate or have contact with witnesses, she may not tamper with evidence or approach the victim in any way, and she must distance herself and keep at least 100m radius from the centre. Upon paying bail Brummer has 6 hours to hand in her passport. It was a concern of the state that she has a valid passport and that her son-in-law works and lives in America. Brummer may not apply for a new passport when the existing one expires in 2026.
The other five accused Anna Fourie (73), Nomsa Ngcongwane (56) and Prudence Majorobella (35), Mofolo Ntswaki (30) and Puseleletso Mola (33) have been granted bail of R1 000 each. They may return to work, but they too may not interfere with the investigation or witnesses. The victim is still a resident of the facility and none of the accused are allowed to go near her or attend to her, not even in an emergency situation where she might require assistance from staff.
In a sworn affidavit before court Brummer says she denies that she had the intention to injure or kill anyone. She is not a violent person and has no prior convictions of violence against her. She says the allegations that she tried to kill an elderly person are untrue. She denies closing the mouth of the victim or binding her hands.
Warrant Officer Anje Tait, the investigating officer, testified during the bail hearing that Brummer can clearly be seen in video footage binding the hands and mouth of the victim. The video footage was again mentioned in detail on Friday during bail judgement. About 30 videos were recorded and have been sent to Cyber Crime for analysis. A report will be submitted to court.
During the bail application evidence was given by Tait that Brummer and the other staff knew of the camera and Brumer knew she was being filmed. The video camera had been placed near the victim’s bed by her daughter.
The court heard on Friday that the employment and credentials of five have the accused had been verified by the investigating officer. Tait has not yet been able to obtain Brummer’s employment file. Tait has been told it is not at the old age home, and no-one can give it to her, not even defence.The bail judgement was made after three gruelling days of testimony in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court. When passing judgement, the court said there were no compelling reasons to keep the six women incarcerated.
The six accused have all been charged with attempted murder of, kidnapping and assault GBV case involving a frail 81-year-old victim, who weighs a mere 40 kg. They are also facing charges under the Old Persons Act 13 of 2006. The court heard on Tuesday that a further charge of torture will be added.
The first four accused were arrested on Wednesday 9 July, and the two additional arrests followed on Monday.
Tait told the court that another case implicating the accused has been made at the Welkom Police Station. She also referred to a third case that is pending.
Vista previously reported on vistanews.co.za about the gruesome acts of cruelty and depravity that have come to light following video camera footage being discovered.
The video footage and photographs depict the extreme verbal, mental, and physical abuse the elderly woman was subjected to.
Weighing a mere 40kg, she was no match for the attendants at her bedside − sometimes up to four women at a time. The elderly woman was physically subdued and restrained with duct tape. Her mouth and hands were bound so that she could not move.
The emotional scenes playing off in the video are exacerbated by the photos of extremely bruised hands, bleeding lips from the duct tape and bruises, scratches, and scrapes to the face.
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