A Grassy Park woman who confessed to strangling her bedridden sister to death has been released on R1 000 bail by the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.
Brenda Pheiffer, 59, made her first appearance yesterday after handing herself over to police for the murder of her younger sibling Trudy, 53.
Pheiffer was arrested on Tuesday after she walked into Grassy Park police station and told officers that she had strangled her sussie with a belt.
Officers accompanied Pheiffer to her flat in First Road, where they found Trudy’s body on the bed, and were later shown the murder weapon.
According to a neighbour, Pheiffer could no longer handle the stress of caring for Trudy and claimed she had reached her breaking point and “snapped”.
Grassy Park station commander Dawood Laing said: “A 59-year-old female came to the station and reported that she had strangled her sister with a belt.
“She took officers to her home where they found the deceased, a 53-year-old woman, on her bed and the belt was handed over.
“The sister has been charged with murder.”
During court proceedings, it was revealed that Pheiffer had been admitted to Crescent Clinic last year by her employer after a mental breakdown.
Standing in the dock wearing a grey fleece jacket, the polite and soft-spoken woman responded to questions posed by Magistrate Goolam Bawa to ascertain whether or not she needed to be referred to a district surgeon.
“I did receive treatment for a mental breakdown. My manager sent me to Crescent Clinic in March last year,” she said.
Pheiffer added that she was not given any medication or told she needed follow-up treatment.
Addressing the court, the prosecutor confirmed she alerted cops to the murder and said the State would not be opposing her release on bail.
Pheiffer was represented by a Legal Aid lawyer, who confirmed her family would pay the bail after consulting with an angry vrou in the public gallery.
The case postponed to December 1 for further investigations.
Pheiffer’s family declined to comment on the case and were heard screaming at journalists in the court corridors.