'Farm attack' turns out to be murder by wife

Johannesburg - A woman who claimed her husband was killed on their farm by robbers was sentenced to 18 years in jail after it emerged she was the killer, Rapport reported on Sunday.

The Afrikaans newspaper's sister Beeld reported previously that Petro and "young farmer" Johan Taljaard were attacked by at least two men in their bedroom on the farm Rietpan in Delareyville on Saturday 12 April 2003.

She said she was woken up by a window breaking and later had a knife held to her throat. She said her husband was shot four times during a struggle with a robber who had grabbed his gun from under his pillow. They made off with the firearm and the cash she had in her purse.

Klerksdorp police investigated a "farm murder" and appealed for information but the case went cold.

Adv Hannes van Niekerk said the case was reopened when there were complaints over it not being solved. According to photographs taken, forensic specialists decided her injuries had been self-inflicted, and that she had scratched herself with a sharp object.

Other anomalies included her waiting so long to call the police and not being sure about how many robbers there were.

Four days into the eventual trial in Mahikeng North West, she changed her plea from not guilty to guilty when she saw the evidence mounting against her.

The motive was thought to be money. She had inherited the farm.