Funeral held for Briton killed in South Africa farm attack

JOHANNESBURG – Mourners in South Africa held a funeral on Tuesday for a British woman who was brutally assaulted and killed by attackers at her farm.

Susan Howarth died on Feb. 21, two days after the attack. Her British husband, Robert Lynn, survived and has said he was burned with a blowtorch and slashed with a knife by assailants demanding money. Three suspects are being held without bail. Their next court appearance is March 10.

South Africa has a high rate of violent crime, and attacks on farmers in relatively isolated areas with minimal security are part of that phenomenon.

Some white farmers say they are disproportionately targeted and that the government is not doing enough to protect the white minority. Authorities have disputed any idea that the cruelty of many attacks is racially motivated, saying people of all backgrounds in South Africa are vulnerable to crime

“People die every day, but it’s the brutality that went with this death that I think is the shocking story,” said Eileen du Preez, a friend of Howarth, at the funeral in Dullstroom, in Mpumalanga province.

Du Preez said 64 roses were brought to the funeral — one for each year of Howarth’s life.