Family wants Justice for Bradwyn
Family members of a 20-year-old man who was murdered during a “street bash” in Ocean View were surprised when they were approached by Police Minister Bheki Cele while silently protesting outside the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court.
The family and members of the Ocean View community held up posters calling for their son, Bradwyn Adendorf's alleged killer to be denied bail.
Bradwyn was stabbed in his shoulder on July 31 at a party and died from his injury while trying to walk home.
He identified the alleged attacker as 22-year-old Nathaniel Petersen who now faces a charge of murder.
His mother, Anette Overmeyer said that he had said Mr Petersen’s name three times before he died.
Minister Cele was at court attending the first appearance of an 18-year-old-man who was arrested in connection with the murder of Magistrate Romy van Rooyen last month.
He noticed the family and approached Bradwyn’s sister, Tiffany Overmeyer.
He spoke to her for a while but then she became emotional and he then spoke to Bradwyn’s mother, Ms Overmeyer.
She asked him why “perpetrators are so easily released on bail.”
Ms Overmeyer said Minister Cele listened to her and then suggested she ask the same question to the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development John Jeffery.
He took his phone out of his pocket, dialled Mr Jeffery, and then handed the phone to Ms Overmeyer.
After speaking to him she handed the phone back to Minister Cele. She said Mr Jeffery asked about the case and requested the case number.
“He said he will look into it,” she said.
Bradwyn’s father, Sebastian Overmeyer, said the family had been upset the previous week when the case was postponed due to Mr Petersen’s lawyer not being available but they are now grateful that it had happened as they would never have had to opportunity to speak to Mr Jeffery, had it not been for the postponement.
Ms Overmeyer said the family has been “hurting in silence”.
“This terrible thing has happened to us and we are expected to just move on and it feels like no one can see how much we are hurting,” she said.
Bradwyn’s death, she said, had “hit his grandparents very hard” as she had him when she was 19 years old and he grew up in their house “like a child.”
Ms Overmeyer said he was not involved in gang activities and was busy finishing his matric. He had plans for his future and would hardly go out.
His aunt, Jolie Klein, said his death had left the family in a “dark hole”.
“He was a good child and always avoided trouble, he was not a troublemaker,” she said.
Inside court, Mr Petersen abandoned his bail application so that further investigations can be done.
The State indicated that Bradwyn’s post-mortem results were still outstanding and the case was postponed to Thursday November 3.
Mr Petersen remained in the dock after the postponement where he faced a charge of possession of drugs in another case. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance.