Varty David Boyd

Age 39. a heavily armed gang of five men breached the property to commit a robbery. The attackers first stormed the home of David's 74-year-old father, Barry Varty, and his mother, Erica Varty. The perpetrators assaulted and held the domestic worker, Busisiwe Lembethe, and a security guard, Bhatomu Gasa, at gunpoint. After forcing the elder Varty to hand over approximately two thousand rands from a safe, the intruders handcuffed, gagged, and locked Barry Varty and the domestic worker inside a bathroom. While the robbers were still ransacking the house, David Varty arrived at his parents' home. Realizing an attack was underway, he bravely confronted the armed gang. A violent struggle and an immediate shootout erupted inside the house and spilled out into the open garden. David Varty was shot three times, sustaining fatal gunshot wounds to his head, shoulder, and arm. His body was discovered later that evening hidden in his parents' garden after his father managed to break free and raise the alarm via his daughter-in-law, Tammy. The attackers fled the property in a stolen farm utility vehicle (bakkie). David Varty left behind his wife, Tammy, and a young son.Law enforcement officials from the specialized Pietermaritzburg Organised Crime Unit and the regional task team launched a major investigation, utilizing physical forensics to crack the case. Fingerprint expert Inspector Chris Barnard successfully matched prints lifted from a bottle opener inside the farm office and a medical aid box in the passage directly to the suspects, while a palm print was recovered from the abandoned, stolen bakkie. Five suspects were arrested and charged. They were identified as Andreas Simelane (36), Thembinkosi Dlomo (27), Lungiseni Mchunu (32), Thandukwazi Nyembe (45), and Sphamandla Sibiya (36).The criminal proceedings took place in the Pietermaritzburg High Court before Judge Jan Combrink. The trial revealed that one of the shooters, Lungiseni Mchunu, was brazenly out on bail for a separate high-profile murder of a local Pietermaritzburg businessman when he participated in the farm attack. Following a comprehensive trial, the prosecution successfully proved the presence and actions of all five men. The Pietermaritzburg High Court found all five men guilty of murder, multiple counts of aggravated robbery, and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The court handed down life imprisonment sentences to all five perpetrators for their direct roles in the murder of David Varty.