The old year could not have ended more badly for a Heinz Park mother when two of her children - one of them a few months pregnant - were burned to death after two men petrol-bombed their home.
A pregnant Chantelle Arendse, 24, and her four-year-old adopted sister, Marshlene Faas, were trapped as the flames engulfed their Daffodil Street home about 4am on Wednesday.
They and the rest of the family were asleep when their mother, Maria Faas, awakened, smelled petrol and heard a bang moments before the house caught fire, police spokesperson Ntomboxolo Sitshitshi said.
Faas and her son, Reagan Harmse, escaped with only slight burns to their faces and necks.
"(Chantelle and Marshlene) were trapped by flames and burned to death," Sitshitshi said.
Witnesses saw two men fleeing from the house.
A distraught Faas broke down as she said she could only watch helplessly as the flames engulfed the house with her daughters trapped inside.
"All four of us were in the house and my children were still in the room," she said.
"We tried to escape from the fire. But I was under the impression that my older daughter was going to bring out the baby.
"I could then hear my daughter saying 'Mommy, help, Mommy help' inside the house.
"But I had no more strength to go back in and help them. I could only stand and listen."
Faas said she believed she knew who was behind the attack.
"We know them. The people who did this live in our street," she said.
She said the problem had begun with a cupboard that the householder's son sold to her for R150.
The sale of the cupboard apparently upset the neighbour's mother, who wanted her cupboard back.
"The police even came here to arrest me, but they couldn't because the cupboard had been sold to me. That's the main reason (the neighbours) threw petrol on us. "
"It's not only this house - the same people set another house alight.
"But this is bad - I've got two children dead in the new year.
"It was unnecessary. (My daughter) didn't even drink and smoke."
Faas said she bore no grudge towards the family of the men who set her house alight.
"I have nothing against them," she said. "My heart is clear. There are no feelings of hate.
"(The men who did this) just look at my face and carry on walking."
Sitshitshi said police were investigating murder charges and had yet to establish the motive for the attack.
No one had been arrested. - Cape Times
A pregnant Chantelle Arendse, 24, and her four-year-old adopted sister, Marshlene Faas, were trapped as the flames engulfed their Daffodil Street home about 4am on Wednesday.
They and the rest of the family were asleep when their mother, Maria Faas, awakened, smelled petrol and heard a bang moments before the house caught fire, police spokesperson Ntomboxolo Sitshitshi said.
Faas and her son, Reagan Harmse, escaped with only slight burns to their faces and necks.
| 'I could only stand and listen' |
Witnesses saw two men fleeing from the house.
A distraught Faas broke down as she said she could only watch helplessly as the flames engulfed the house with her daughters trapped inside.
"All four of us were in the house and my children were still in the room," she said.
"We tried to escape from the fire. But I was under the impression that my older daughter was going to bring out the baby.
| The sale of the cupboard apparently upset the neighbour's mother |
"But I had no more strength to go back in and help them. I could only stand and listen."
Faas said she believed she knew who was behind the attack.
"We know them. The people who did this live in our street," she said.
She said the problem had begun with a cupboard that the householder's son sold to her for R150.
The sale of the cupboard apparently upset the neighbour's mother, who wanted her cupboard back.
"The police even came here to arrest me, but they couldn't because the cupboard had been sold to me. That's the main reason (the neighbours) threw petrol on us. "
"It's not only this house - the same people set another house alight.
"But this is bad - I've got two children dead in the new year.
"It was unnecessary. (My daughter) didn't even drink and smoke."
Faas said she bore no grudge towards the family of the men who set her house alight.
"I have nothing against them," she said. "My heart is clear. There are no feelings of hate.
"(The men who did this) just look at my face and carry on walking."
Sitshitshi said police were investigating murder charges and had yet to establish the motive for the attack.
No one had been arrested. - Cape Times
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