{"id":16963,"date":"2026-01-11T11:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T11:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/16963\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T11:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T11:47:16","slug":"pics-couple-assaulted-with-hammer-during-armed-attack-at-south-african-game-reserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/16963\/","title":{"rendered":"PICS | Couple assaulted with hammer during armed attack at South African game reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Graphic warning: The article below contains graphic details and may be disturbing or triggering for some individuals. Reader discretion is advised.<\/p>\n

Investigations are under way following a violent attack on a South African couple at a well-known game reserve.<\/p>\n

The couple, Louise (23) and Leanne (24) \u2014 not their real names \u2014 both work abroad and were visiting South Africa to see family when they booked a short stay at the reserve to rest and unwind.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Suspects in Imbali GBV tavern attack hand themselves over to police<\/a><\/p>\n

The attack occurred on Tuesday night shortly after 10pm.<\/p>\n

According to a report by Brad Nathanson Investigations, the couple were asleep when they woke at about 11pm to find two men standing at the foot of their bed, shining torches.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the men shouted \u2018Hey,\u2019\u201d the report said. \u201cLeanne shouted that she had a weapon and lunged at one of the intruders, forcing him toward the kitchen area.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the struggle, Leanne grabbed a two-plate stove in an attempt to defend herself.<\/p>\n

The second intruder remained in the bedroom with Louise, shouting at her to \u201cshut up\u201d while searching through their belongings. Louise managed to slide off the bed with her phone and called her mother, shouting that they were being attacked.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Three hurt in polar bear attack in remote Siberian village<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cUpon hearing this, the intruder assaulted Louise with a hammer, striking her repeatedly across her body before seizing her phone,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Louise witnessed Leanne being choked during a struggle with the second intruder. When the hammer was briefly put down, Leanne tried to reach it but was beaten to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was then repeatedly assaulted with the hammer, including blows to her ribs and head, and later choked unconscious,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne of the woman showing a wound to her lip. Photo from Brad Nathanson Investigations Facebook <\/p>\n

Leanne later stated that while being choked she believed she was dying.<\/p>\n

Believing Leanne to be lifeless, the intruders demanded money from Louise. Earlier that day, the couple had paid cash for fishing licences at the reserve.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | eThekwini worker dies after hospital stay following bee attack<\/a><\/p>\n

After Leanne regained consciousness, the intruders locked the couple inside the accommodation and fled with their phones, laptops, clothing and other personal belongings. The keys to the unit were also taken.<\/p>\n

The injured women eventually escaped through a window, reached their vehicle and fled the reserve to seek medical help.<\/p>\n

\"OnePhoto from Brad Nathanson Investigations Facebook <\/p>\n

A case was opened with the local SAPS.<\/p>\n

Questions have since been raised about how the suspects gained access to the accommodation, as there were reportedly no signs of forced entry.<\/p>\n

According to the report, the families have also raised concerns about the conduct of certain reserve representatives following the attack.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Israel says killed man responsible for West Bank ramming attack<\/a><\/p>\n

The couple were informed that photographs of the crime scene had been taken and were allegedly threatened not to divulge details of the incident and the name of the lodge on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were warned that if the matter was made public and the reserve named, the images would be released to embarrass the families,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n

The families have since escalated the matter to senior management and higher authorities associated with the reserve, appealing for intervention and an independent review of the response to the incident, including security measures and staff conduct.<\/p>\n

Police investigations into the attack and robbery are continuing.<\/p>\n

Nathanson said he was confident the suspects would be arrested swiftly. He will release a further statement on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Graphic warning: The article below contains graphic details and may be disturbing or triggering for some individuals. Reader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[10856,10857,1128,4038,9883,2818,2102,96,131],"class_list":{"0":"post-16963","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-armed-attacked","9":"tag-assaulted","10":"tag-attack","11":"tag-couple","12":"tag-game-reserve","13":"tag-kwazulu-natal","14":"tag-kzn","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-south-africa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}