‘WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME’

A DELFT family is still battling heartbreak and confusion after a young mother was shot and killed in her sleep last month.  

Shime Plaatjies, 20, was shot three times on 5 October while sleeping in a friend’s home in Tamla Street, Voorbrug.

She died two days later, leaving behind a little girl who is now trying to make sense of a world without her mother.

Her alleged killer, 21-year-old Kyle Jacobs, appeared in the Bellville Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where he was denied bail.

Friends of Plaatjies say the weeks after her death were an absolute nightmare as they were made to wait for information on the investigation. 

A close friend, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Voice that not a single police official called them with updates. They only learned about Jacobs’ bail plans when they went to follow up on the case themselves.

The friend described the morning Plaatjies was killed, saying she and a friend were lamming at a house when alleged Hard Livings gangsters arrived to shoot at them.

The friend explained: “Shime fell asleep and around 7am that is when they came to shoot. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The HLs apparently came to the house to look for her friend after he went to go and shoot on their turf in Roosendal so they came back to retaliate.”

Plaatjies’s four-year-old dogtertjie is now starting to realise what it means that her mom is never coming home again.

The friend added: “She [the daughter] says ‘Shime got her wings now’.” 

The family and friends say that although nothing can bring Plaatjies back, there is a small sense of relief knowing her alleged killer will remain behind bars.

The friend says: “Ons is net bly hy het nie borgtog gekry nie, dit bring dalk nie vir Shime terug nie, maar ten minste het ons nog 'n lewe gered.”

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed that a case of murder and attempted murder was opened.

Twigg said: “An adult male and a female were shot and fatally wounded and a three-year-old child wounded. The case is investigated by the Anti-Gang Unit. We can confirm that a suspect was arrested and appeared in court.”

Jacobs is expected to return to court on 24 November.

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