Dorethea Kraft

Case information

Name: Dorethea Kraft (later Van der Merwe) First woman to be hanged after Union

Timeline

• 1914 — Dorethea Kraft lived on the farm Treurfontein in the Lichtenburg district.
• 1887 — Louis Tumpowski arrived in South Africa in 1887 at the age of twenty-five.
• 21 May 1914 — A contract was signed for Treurfontein between Mrs Kraft and Tumpowski, under which Tumpowski moved to Treurfontein and they began living together as man and wife.
• 1918 — Mrs Kraft decided that the time had come to sell the property; she learned about an option clause giving Tumpowski the right, at lease end, to purchase the farm at a price of £35s a morgen.
• 2 February 1918 — During a violent hailstorm at the farm Treurfontein, Jim Bird attacked Louis Tumpowski with a knobkerrie and Hermanus Swartz cut Tumpowski’s throat with a pocket-knife; the body was buried beneath an ash-pit.
• After the murder (within weeks) — Mrs Kraft began to complain that she had been deserted by Tumpowski and, for a short time, went to stay with a neighbour because she was afraid to remain alone on the farm.
• (Nearly three months after his mysterious disappearance) — Tumpowski’s sister in Johannesburg received a letter from a man interested in purchasing the option on Treurfontein and asked for her brother’s “new” address.
• (About a year after the request made by Tumpowski’s sister) — The police conceded to a full-scale search of the farm; the search was sanctioned by Inspector A.E. Trigger (head of the Transvaal CID).
• July 1920 — Detective-Sergeant Frederick William Daniels began looking for Tumpowski’s body on the farm using eight prisoners from Lichtenberg Prison.
• 20 August — Daniels went to question Jim Bird; during the interrogation Bird confessed to taking part in the murder.
• 20 September 1920 — Louis Tumpowski’s body was found buried on the edge of the ash pit near the back door of the farmhouse; the post-mortem was conducted showing a fractured skull and knife damage across the throat.
• 13 June 1921 — The trial of Mrs Kraft (who had become Mrs van der Merwe) and Hermanus Swartz began at the Potchefstroom Circuit Court; they were sentenced to death.
• August 16, 1921 — Dorethea van der Merwe was executed at Pretoria Central prison by hanging.
• August 17, 1921 — Hermanus Swartz was hanged.

Background

Dorethea Kraft lived on the farm Treurfontein in the Lichtenburg district in 1914. She was divorced and had trouble with her Bantu labourers. Louis Tumpowski, a Polish Jew, aged 55, called at the farm as a pedlar and offered to manage the farm, which she agreed to. Tumpowski’s attorneys drew up a lease under which he was to pay an annual rental and have the right eventually to buy the property. Tumpowski offered to lease and run Treurfontein himself at a rent of £25 per year, and a contract was drawn up by a firm of Johannesburg attorneys to make the arrangement legal and binding; the document was signed on 21 May 1914. Tumpowski moved to Treurfontein, and he and Mrs Kraft soon began living together as man and wife. The farm failed to prosper. Mrs Kraft’s local people resented taking orders from a woman. In 1918, Mrs Kraft decided to sell the property and learnt that the agreement contained an option clause giving Tumpowski the right, at lease end, to purchase the farm from her at a price of £35s a morgen, below the ruling price, which compelled her to sell at a bargain price. Mrs Kraft approached attorneys and they confirmed that she was obliged to sell to him at the bargain price. Mrs Kraft decided to appeal to Tumpowski’s better nature by believing that if she married Tumpowski, she could have the option clause quashed in an ante-nuptial agreement. She attempted to marry him, but relations were strained and Tumpowski refused to consider marriage. When marriage was refused, she returned to witchcraft. She approached a local witch doctor named Jim Bird, also known as Whiskers, and asked for a love potion to make Tumpowski fall “madly in love with her.” When she put potion into Tumpowski’s tea, he became violently ill and accused her of trying to poison him; after that incident he refused to take food from her.

The offence

A plan developed to have Tumpowski killed. Mrs Kraft agreed to help, and Hermanus Lambertus Swartz, who was in love with Mrs Kraft’s daughter Polly, helped. Swartz reasoned that the solution lay in having Tumpowski killed. Jim Bird prepared to perform the deed in return for a payment of £100. On the night of 2 February 1918, during a violent hailstorm, Jim Bird and Swartz attacked Louis Tumpowski at the farmhouse. Mrs Kraft, Swartz, Jim Bird, and three African labourers assembled in the living room of the farmhouse to make final preparations. Swartz took Bird to the door of Tumpowski’s room, worked the latch, and pushed the witch doctor inside. Tumpowski had barely a chance to look up before Bird attacked him with a knobkerrie, “Blow after blow” rained down on the victim’s skull. When Bird stepped back from the bed, Swartz tied a leather thong round Tumpowski’s neck and cut his throat with a pocket-knife. Mrs Kraft fetched a blanket and used it to stem the flow of blood. Jim Bird fled in panic because he was convinced someone was watching them through a window. With the help of three African labourers—Hermanus, Andries, and Piccanin—Mrs Kraft and Swartz carried Tumpowski’s body outside and buried it in a rough grave beneath an ash-pit in the garden. By daylight, evidence of the crime had been removed.

Investigation

Tumpowski’s disappearance caused little comment. Mrs Kraft moved to another district, remarried, and became known as Mrs Van der Merwe. Tumpowski’s sister in Johannesburg became suspicious when her letters were returned and went to the police. She became suspicious when she received a letter from a man interested in purchasing the option on Treurfontein and asked for her brother’s “new” address. Eventually, Tumpowski’s sister approached the police to investigate her brother’s disappearance. Mrs Kraft told the police that she was neither interested in nor concerned about Tumpowski’s whereabouts and said she believed Tumpowski had vanished to avoid debt repayment. When she heard her explanation, Tumpowski’s sister pointed out that her brother’s financial affairs had been in perfect order at the time of his disappearance. The investigation was sanctioned by Inspector A.E. Trigger, head of the Transvaal CID, after learning of the option clause and considering it motive enough for murder. A search was organised by Detective-Sergeant Frederick William Daniels, and in July 1920 he began looking for Tumpowski’s body on the farm using eight prisoners from Lichtenberg Prison. For the next month and a half, acres of the farm were dug over, wells were plumbed, and even floors of the farmhouse were lifted, but all to no avail. No one had come forward with information despite a £100 reward offered by the police. During the interrogation on 20 August, Bird confessed to taking part in the murder but maintained he had run away before the body was disposed of and thus did not know the whereabouts of the corpse. Following the disclosure, Bird joined the eight convicts digging up the farm. At night he was kept in a lock-up because there was “no other place.” On 20 September 1920, almost two-and-a-half years after the murder, Bird’s confession led to the discovery of Tumpowski’s body on the edge of the ash pit near the back door of the farmhouse. The body was badly decomposed, but some grey hair was still visible, and there were marks indicating a cut across the throat. A signet ring was found on a finger of the left hand, which neighbours were able to identify, and a local cobbler recognized the boots the corpse was wearing. The post-mortem showed Tumpowski had suffered a fractured skull and there were marks across his throat indicating knife damage.

Arrest

Shortly afterwards, the police arrested Mrs van der Merwe, Hermanus Swartz, Jim Bird, and the three African labourers. Two of the African labourers whom Jim Bird claimed had been accessories to the murder were committed to trial but later acquitted on lack of evidence. The third man was not tried.

Trial

The trial of Mrs Kraft, who had become Mrs van der Merwe, and Hermanus Swartz began on 13 June 1921 at the Potchefstroom Circuit Court. The State Prosecutor, Mr Hoal, began his address to the jury by pointing out that, for a guilty verdict to be returned, it was not necessary for the State to prove that Mrs van der Merwe murdered Tumpowski herself, only that she had instigated the crime. The evidence implicating both Mrs van der Merwe and Mr Swartz in the murder was described as “so overwhelming that the jury had no hesitation” in returning guilty verdicts for both accused. Jim Bird was presented as having turned “King’s evidence” in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The judge pointed out Jim Bird was, by his own admission, a “liar, adulterer - he had had sexual relations with Mrs Kraft on a number of occasions - witchdoctor and murderer”.

Sentencing

Dorethea van der Merwe and Hermanus Swartz were sentenced to death. Bird, who turned king’s evidence, was acquitted.

Outcome

Dorethea van der Merwe was executed at Pretoria Central prison by hanging on August 16, 1921. Hermanus Swartz was hanged on Wednesday, August 17, 1921.

Other details

Mrs Kraft later began to complain that she had been deserted by Tumpowski and for a short time went to stay with a neighbour because she was afraid to remain alone on the farm. Tumpowski’s sister lived in Johannesburg and became suspicious when letters were returned. Tumpowski’s body was found buried in an ash-pit after a storm with torrential rain caused subsidence in the ash-pit. Mrs Kraft’s daughter, Polly, lived in Johannesburg during part of the investigation period. A policeman search in July 1920 used eight prisoners from Lichtenberg Prison, and they dug for months before the body was found.