Bay woman still in ICU after brutal attack

A Kamma Park woman who was brutally attacked in a house robbery earlier this week, is still in intensive care.

Police have confirmed that they had not yet consulted with Anne Smith, 86, as she was heavily sedated and in the intensive care unit at Greenacres Hospital, in Port Elizabeth.

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said Smith was sedated and unable to communicate due to the extent of her injuries.

“At this stage, we are consulting with the doctors. Once the doctors give the all clear, detectives will be able to interview her,” he said.

Labans added crime scene and forensic experts were still processing evidence found on the scene.

“We are confident that an arrest will be made soon. Detectives have activated informer networks and are working on tracing the suspects.” 

Several questions remained unanswered as to how the attackers got into the house and whether Smith was beaten with a hammer or the back of an axe.

Both the hammer and axe were found at the scene.

The horrific discovery was made by Lorraine Neighbourhood Watch members when the two attackers were seen climbing over Smith’s perimeter gate in Martha Street, Kamma Park.

A chase ensued and stolen goods from the house were recovered.

During the pursuit, another neighbourhood watch member went to the house and found Smith lying in a pool of blood inside her house.

Since then Smith has been in hospital and also undergone surgery.

CCTV images of the men were located on a nearby security camera.

The images will not yet be released with police saying they are still following up on leads and the images could interfere with the identification parade once the men are arrested.

Lorraine Neighbourhood Watch chairman Peter Graham said since the attack they had been inundated with sightings of possible suspects matching the attackers' descriptions.

“Residents are all on alert after the attack and are reporting all suspicious activity to us, the police and security providers.

"On Tuesday we had two possible sightings of the suspects walking in a nearby street in the Lorraine area but after police arrived it was determined that they were not the men,” he said.

“Due to the severity of the attack people are scared and want these criminals brought to justice and locked up.”

Investigations are ongoing and police are still following up on leads.