The community of Surrey Estate remains in shock after the brutal murder of a 70-year-old man on Saturday.
Described by neighbours as a “gentleman” and “kind soul”, Peter Goliath died a gruesome death when two men robbed his home in Orion Street during the early hours of Saturday morning, August 25, and beat him to death.
His daughter Lizelle Seconds, said the robbers gained access by lifting the front window of the lounge and went straight for the couple’s bedroom.
Sound asleep in bed were Mr Goliath and his wife Elizabeth, who woke up to someone beating her. Ms Seconds said while her father tried to fight off the man who tried to suffocate her mother, the other man started to beat him.
“They kicked her in her ribs and punched her and kept asking where is the money. She thought she was dreaming. My dad was lying on his stomach and full of blood and when my mom checked his pulse he was dead,” she said.
According to Manenberg police spokesman Captain Ian Bennett, robbers stole a flat screen TV and a cellphone. He said this kind of incident was not common in Surrey Estate.
“Brigadier Enolium Joseph has deployed his serious violent crimes unit of Manenberg detective branch to investigate this incident and will leave no stone unturned using all his resources at his disposal. Brigadier Joseph has said that a substantial financial reward will be offered, that will lead to the arrest and successful conviction of these perpetrators of this crime.”
One of the neighbours who asked to remain anonymous, said that once the robbers left, Ms Goliath ran over to another neighbour’s house for help.
“I heard her screaming and I told her to wait. We called the neighbourhood watch and they called the ambulance but Peter was dead already. I tried to comfort her. She was so shaken and devastated. You can’t describe the state that she was in. She said that she played dead so that they would leave her alone,” she said.
“Peter was a kind, gentle man. Any woman would wish for someone like him. He always helped others. He treated us with kindness and grace and everyone loved him in this street. People say you die the way you lived but that was not the case here. I keep waiting for someone to pinch me to wake up,” she said.
Ms Seconds said her mother was suffering from a huge amount of pain and her four daughters were distraught at the loss of their grandfather.
“My eldest daughter is not taking it well because she was very close to her grandfather. This is a tough time for us as a family. They came in with the intent to harm my parents because they went straight for their bedroom. My mother is traumitised but she is a woman of God and she will get through this,” Ms Seconds added.
Captain Bennett urged residents to secure their homes with burglar bars and security gates.
“Especially the older citizens living alone, need to secure their homes, it is expensive to do but they need to do it,” he said.
Anyone with information can contact Manenberg SAPS on 021 699 9400 or crime stop 0860010111.