Within days of the brutal murder of Brendin Horner (21) another young farmer, Raymond Gregory Papabavlou (28) was murdered on the farm Frischgewagt in the Rooikraal region near Groblersdal in the Limpopo Province.
According to information from various sources, Raymond was lying in bed while his wife was lying on the couch in front of the television. She fell asleep and woke up to a gunshot. She had a firearm with her and fired warning shots. According to the Groblersdal police spokesperson, adjutant officer Stanley Magaela, the bedroom door was ajar and the woman had fired seven warning shots through the door.
Raymond was pronounced dead at the scene. He was shot five times, once in the head, three times in the side, and once in the back. There were no signs of a fight and it appears that he was killed in his sleep.
On socialmedia a friend posted:
REST IN PEACE RAYMOND. I HAVE NOT ONLY LOST A DEAR FRIEND BUT WE HAVE LOST A PRODUCTIVE FARMER.
Where do I start, I have no words.
My heart is in pieces and I can not believe it’s you. Why you? Why should you be taken away from us?
You were always the friendliest person. You helped me on my first hunting trip. I’m going to miss drinking rum with you, I’m going to miss your passion for life and what you do.
I’m going to miss you singing “Komma” and how you sang it so wholeheartedly, every time the song played.
Photos of your beautiful sheep passing and how you were building things.
The amazing self-made boerewors that you always had at a braai for everyone to taste.
I will miss so many things about you and who you were. The greatest friendliest, most loving person.
I wish we could meet one more time, one last time to listen to the loud music from your car and just talk one more time about life.
Arrests made for the murder of Raymond
Adjutant officer Stanley Magaela confirmed that the police are investigating a case of murder. It does not appear that anything was stolen from the house. The only sign that something was missing was a small window in the kitchen that was open.
Another farmer in the area, who would like to remain anonymous, said that Raymond’s wife called the previous night about a suspicious Mercedes that was parked next to the road near the Rooikraal turned off. The vehicle’s number plate was checked and it was determined that it came from an address in Gauteng. By the time farmers responded, the vehicle was already gone.
Lt.Gen. Nneke Ledwaba, the provincial police commissioner, ordered that the incident be thoroughly investigated and that the culprit (s) be arrested.
No arrests have been made.
