Police spokesman Motantsi Makhele said the unknown assailant told Dirkie van Zyl on Saturday morning that he would not kill her, but he needed money.
Van Zyl, 89, apparently made coffee for the man, but after they had coffee together, he assaulted her with a hammer.
The man then left there empty-handed, after Van Zyl pressed the emergency button.
Wimpie van Deventer, owner of a security company in Hoopstad, says he responded to the emergency call and found the injured Van Zyl.
Van Deventer says the man climbed through an open window of Van Zyl’s garage. He then climbed the ceiling from inside the garage and moved through the roof before entering Van Zyl’s bedroom and assaulted her.
Van Zyl’s daughter, Annetjie Ras, says her mother is still very confused and they are not sure exactly how everything happened.
Ras and Van Zyl stay at the same holding, but Ras is currently vacationing in the Cape.
Ras says her mother is now at the town’s old age home.
Makhele asked people who could help with the investigation to contact the police.
