When an online troll recently asked a grieving mother for R5,000 in cash in exchange for a video showing the murder of her son, it sent her over the edge.
Every waking moment of the Gqeberha woman’s days is already spent wondering who is responsible for the death of her son, and now someone is trying to extort her.
Sergeant De Porres Leonardo Frieslaar, 37, was gunned down on August 29 2020 in Wallflower Street, Bethelsdorp.
His body was found in his Suzuki Celerio at about 11.15pm by members of the Bethelsdorp police who had been called to the scene of a shooting.
His service pistol had been stolen.
Frieslaar, who was off-duty at the time, had a single gunshot wound to the head.
On Monday, his mother, Eileen, received a message on Facebook asking for R5,000 in exchange for a video of her son’s shooting.
The Herald has seen the message.
“I was told not to involve the police, or else,” the terrified woman said.
Ever since her son’s murder, she has been living in fear.
She battles to sleep at night and when she does, her dreams are overrun by images of her son’s brutal death.
“Until I know who was so cruel to turn my whole life upside down by killing my son, my soul cannot be at peace,” Eileen said from her Booysen Park home this week.
Though the motive for Frieslaar’s murder has not yet been established by the police, Eileen is convinced that gang members killed her son to get their hands on his service pistol.
She believes that her son’s killers are still walking around the community.
“On Monday, I got a message asking for R5,000 in exchange for a video of my son’s shooting.
“I was told not to involve the police, or else.”
Eileen said she made it clear that she would not be extorted and responded to the person that if the video was indeed legitimate, they should hand the information over to the police.
In November 2020, another anonymous person asked to meet her to give her information about her son’s death.
She was also warned not to involve the police.
“I don’t understand who or why people are doing this.
“Today it’s R5,000 and tomorrow it might be R10,000.
“They are messing with my emotions and prolonging my grief,” she said.
“I want to appeal to whoever’s conscience that if there is indeed a video, it gets shown to the police.
“Video or no video, it is not going to bring back my son.”
Touching on the investigation, Eileen said she was told members of the Hawks took an individual in for questioning, but he was later released without being charged.
“That person is still walking around here. I have seen him quite a few times.”
Eileen claimed that the investigation into her son’s murder seemingly went quiet, as nobody had reached out to her with an update in more than a year.
“There are a lot of rumours swirling around.
“There are people who witnessed the murder but they are too scared to speak up.
“Considering everything that has happened, I am also living in fear,” she said.
Before working at a school in the area, Eileen was a police reservist for more than 20 years.
Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said a case of extortion was not being investigated at present.
“The director of public prosecutions decided that more evidence is needed to commence with prosecution,” Mgolodela said.
When Frieslaar died, the Hawks took over the investigation.
Eileen has, meanwhile, been holding onto her son’s ashes, until such time that his killer is found.
“No parent should ever have to bury their child. It is the most painful thing in the world,” she said.
Frieslaar is survived by his wife and four children.
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