Survivor of Brutal Attack Recounts Harrowing Experience
A 27-year-old woman from South Africa, Alison Botha, has bravely shared her traumatic experience of being abducted, gang-raped, stabbed, and disemboweled by two men, Frans DuToit and Theuns Krugeras, on December 18, 1994. According to reports from the Daily Express, Alison’s attackers, who identified themselves as Satanists, left her for dead, but she managed to survive and later ensured that they were brought to justice.
At the time of the incident, Alison was a model student and head girl of her school, known for her positivity and strong moral compass. On that fateful evening, after socializing with friends, Alison returned home, only to be confronted by DuToit, who forced his way into her car. He threatened to kill her, claiming he only wanted to use the car for an hour. DuToit then drove to a secluded area, where Krugeras joined them, and Alison was brutally assaulted.
The Daily Express reports that Alison remembered feeling "strangely immobilised" during the attack. DuToit menacingly asked her if she lived in a specific house, which felt more like a threat. In a desperate bid to establish a connection with her kidnapper, Alison offered him the car, but he insisted he "wanted company".
As the attack continued, Alison’s assailants took her to a secluded wooded area, where they proceeded to sexually assault her. Krugeras suddenly ceased, exclaiming, "no I can’t do this" and mistakenly addressed his accomplice as "Frans". This name stuck with Alison. Frans then warned Alison, "If we take you into town now you’ll go to the police". DuToit ominously added, "what do you think Oom Nick would want us to do with her."
The Daily Express stated that Oom Nick is a sinister nod to Satan in Afrikaans culture. Krugeras chillingly replied: " I think he wants us to kill her." They coerced Alison into removing her jewellery and clothing before DuToit strangled her into unconsciousness, muttering an apology throughout. When Alison came to, she was surrounded by trash and witnessed an arm slashing before her eyes.
To her horror, she realised he was slicing her throat. She recounted the terrifying moment when she "could hear the flesh slit." The attack came to a sudden halt, and Alison managed to turn onto her belly. She recalled: "I tried to hold my breath but I realised I had no control over my breathing – I moved my hand up to cover my neck – my whole hand disappeared into it, but it seemed to have worked – the sound was silenced."
Feigning death, she listened as one assailant inquired if they thought she was deceased, met with the eerie affirmation "no one can survive that". Amidst her grievous wounds, Alison resolved to ensure her assailants faced justice — she etched their names into the sand coupled with the stirring notation "I love mom."
The Daily Express reported that in an astonishing effort to survive, she cradled her head forward with one hand and clutched her intestines with the other, lying across the road to compel drivers to halt. Despite her frantic attempts to attract attention, the first vehicle veered around her.
Finally, at 2.45 am, rescue came heralded by a woman’s screams and the assistance of a young man, Tiaan Eilerd, an hour and a half after her nightmarish experience began. Tiaan was utterly astounded to find Alison still clinging to life, likening her frightful appearance to a "creature straight out of a Dickens novel" due to the ghastly wound that gaped across her neck "almost ear to ear".
The violence inflicted upon Alison was unspeakable; she had suffered repeated stab wounds to her intestines and her abdominal muscles were in ruin. She later divulged that during the assault, one of her attackers conveyed their intent to grotesquely damage her reproductive system.
In 1995, DuToit and Krugeras were handed down life sentences with no chance of parole. However, on July 4, 2023, they were paroled after serving just 28 years of their life sentence, a decision made without notifying Alison Botha.
The Daily Express stated that Alison’s harrowing experience has been chronicled in her book "I Have Life" and is now reaching broader audiences through the film "Alison" which premiered in August this year. Botha’s courage has also led her to speak to hundreds, sharing motivational insights about how attitude, belief, and choice powered her survival.
Alison has been honoured with the prestigious Rotarian Paul Harris Award for ‘Courage Beyond the Norm’, as well as being named Femina magazine’s inaugural ‘Woman of Courage’ and Port Elizabeth’s Citizen of the Year. Reflecting on the release of the movie, Alison said: "’I have always hoped that by sharing my own journey with others, it would give them hope and courage for their own. To have my story and ultimate triumph shared on screen, would mean that so many more people would see the power of choice that we each have; and might also choose to triumph over life’s hardships".
