A Kraaifontein man Jonathan Geswindt (33) allegedly killed his girlfriend on Christmas day and buried her body in his backyard. It is believed that they couple had a dispute while they were drinking booze and this led to Jonathan strangling and killing his girlfriend Shana “Kriekie” Balie(25).
Geswindt appeared in Blue Downs Magistrates Court on Thursday 09 January 2024 facing a murder charge. According to Shaney Balie, the deceased’s twin sister, the relationship between Jonathan and Kriekie was toxic. She said the accused always used violence against her twin sister. At one point, in June 2024 Kriekie opened a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm against Jonathan. The case was, however, withdrawn by police after they couldn’t get hold of the complainant.
Kriekie’s death was ‘planned’
On Christmas day, Shaney said they were drinking with Kriekie and the accused as well as their other friends at the accused’s place. However, the accused allegedly gave his friend money to go by more booze but secretly asked him to “take everyone” with him so that he can remain with Kriekie only.
“We all left and went to buy booze and never returned to the place and we left them behind,” said Shaney. She believes that the accused had all along planned to kill her twin sister and he had to get rid of everyone to execute his plan.
Gruesome Discovery
On Boxing Day, Shaney wanted the keys from Kriekie as she was supposed to work on the day. She went to Jonathan’s house to fetch the keys. “I knocked the door calling Kriekie’s name, but Jonathan answered. He told me that Kriekie was not with him, and he also wanted to know if I knew where she slept. He went on to say Kriekie could have slept at the house of her baby dad, the father of her youngest child. However, he gave me the keys that I wanted but he didn’t open the door. He threw them to me from the top of the door of his shack,” said Shaney.
Shaney went on to prepare for work but she “had a weird feeling” and my “body was sore”. At the time she didn’t know that her twin sister, but she could tell that “something was seriously wrong”. She took the keys back to Jonathan’s house but still, he didn’t open the door for her. Before she left for work, she learnt that her twin sister had been murdered and Jonathan had handed himself to the police station.
Missing body and squeaky-clean house
Though he handed himself over to cops, Jonathan didn’t disclose where Kriekie’s body was. Residents said they searched the house, but they could not find even a drop of blood because the house was thoroughly cleaned. Cops also couldn’t find anything, but residents found bloody sheets inside a wheely bin in Jonathan’s yard.
Neighbours however said on Christmas day, they had seen Jonathan digging in his backyard. One of the neighbours asked why he was digging at night, but he answered that it was a “way of fighting babalazi” since he was drinking all day. This gave residents and cops a clue leading to the discovery of the shallow grave. Kriekie’s body was found in a shallow grave where Jonathan was seen digging the previous day.
The deceased’s aunt Noluntu Khatyana said they don’t want to see the accused walking free in the streets. “He must rot in jail, he cannot kill my niece and still want to be free,” said the angry aunt.
Cops’ spokesman Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the incident.
“Kraaifontein police responded to a complaint on Thursday 26 December 2024 when an unidentified man informs SAPS members at the Community Service Centre that he killed a woman and that she is buried in a shallow grave on their premises.
“The police members proceeded to Ndondo Street in Wallacedene where they discovered the body of the female at around 20:20. The victim, aged 25 was declared deceased by the medical personnel. Kraaifontein police detained the 33-year-old man for the murder. The motive for this attack is yet to be determined,” said Swartbooi.
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