
Recovering: the Mansfield mother and daughter are thankful to be alive after a brutal attack on their smallholding in Tarlton.
Quote "I do not understand why he attacked me, but because we know who it was, it is easier to deal with."
A mother and daughter from Tarlton are lucky to be alive after being attacked brutally by a worker who had lived with them for 18 years.
Phyllis and Isabel Mansfield are recovering at home after the attack on 1 November in their horse stables on their smallholding. Isabel, the mother was discharged the Wednesday after the incident whereas Phyllis, the mother of the three-year-old who witnessed the attack, only was discharge almost a week later.
The news reported about the attack on the front page of its 14 November edition." This has been an enormous trauma on Annabelle, seeing that she witnessed everything," said Phyllis.
Little Annabelle now suffers from horrible nightmares and is concerned constantly about the safety of her mother and grandmother." Where is he? Why did he beat mommy and granny? Where is he hiding and when will he return?" are some of the questions Annabelle asked.
Besides her shaven head covered in stitches, Phyllis temporarily cannot use her hands as they are still recovering after being injured severely in the attack.Even though doctors are satisfied with the recovery of Phyllis' hands, they are very concerned about the injuries to her head.
Phyllis believes that had her mother not come to see what the commotion in the stable was all about, she probably would have been dead."He looked possessed, I am sure he wanted to beat me to death; I could see it in his eyes. He knew our routine and he was premeditating the attack," an emotional Phyllis described the ordeal.
She remembers hearing her mother asking the attacker what was going on before witnessing him beating the elderly woman over the head from behind. She said she thought her mother was dead."I made the mistake to try and get up after the first attack but he came back and beat me another five times. I then decided to lie still and play dead," Isabel said.
The attacker assumed the grandmother to be dead and continued beating Phyllis before fleeing from the stables."I do not understand why he attacked me, but because we know who it was, it is easier to deal with."The news understands that once apprehended the attacker will face changes of attempted murder and assault.Although the family had received a lead about the whereabouts of the attacker, he is still at large.
http://krugersdorpnews.co.za/250312/mom-and-daughter-recall-brutal-attack/