Alison Botha drove back to her Port Elizabeth, South Africa, apartment after a typical night out with her friends. A knife-wielding man forced his way inside the 27-year-old woman’s car immediately after she parked.

Botha was trapped within her own vehicle after the assailant ordered her to switch seats. He then drove her car to pick up a companion. And it was immediately clear that the two men had bad intentions for her.

Botha was kidnapped by Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger, who led her to a desolate area on the city’s outskirts. She was brutally raped, disemboweled, and had her throat slashed so deeply that she was nearly beheaded. Finally, they left her for dead in a field.

This is the story of Alison Botha’s incredible survival.

The Beginning

Alison Botha was born on September 22, 1967 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Her parents divorced when she was ten years old, and she spent the majority of her childhood with her mother and brother.

Botha led a relatively ordinary life early in her life. She was the head girl at The Collegiate High School for Girls in Port Elizabeth. After completing her education, she spent several years traveling. And upon her return to South Africa, Botha found a fulfilling position as an insurance broker.

The night of her attack appeared to be an ordinary night at first. Botha invited her friends back to her apartment for pizza and games after spending time with them at the beach. Botha drove her final companion home after the majority of the group had left. Botha went back to her apartment.

She reached into the passenger seat after parking her car to retrieve her bag of clean laundry. She did, however, feel a sudden gust of warm air. The driver’s door had been opened by a man wielding a knife.

“Move over, or I’ll kill you,” he threatened.

Botha, terrified, followed the instructions. The man quickly took control of the car and drove away. The man who identified himself as Clinton said, “I don’t want to hurt you.” “I’d like to borrow your car for an hour.”

Clinton, whose real name was Frans du Toit, then traveled to a different section of Port Elizabeth in order to pick up his friend Theuns Kruger.

The men then took her to a remote location just outside the city. Botha, who was frozen, sensed that something terrible was about to occur.

How Alison Botha Survived Her Encounter With The Rapists

Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger informed her that they intended to have sexual relations with her. Botha, clearly trapped and terrified for her life, refused.

Two men with a history of violence against women raped her. They quickly decided to assassinate her as well. They initially tried to suffocate her. Botha clung to life despite losing consciousness.

Frustrated, du Toit and Kruger escalated their brutality. They stabbed Botha at least thirty times in the abdomen.

When Botha’s leg began to twitch, du Toit and Kruger realized their work was not finished. Then they cut her throat sixteen times.

“All I could see was a moving arm above my face,” Alison Botha later recalled. “Left and right, left and right, left and right, left and right.” His movements made a lot of noise. It was a wet sound, the sound of my flesh being cut open. He was using a knife to slit my throat. Again and again and again.”

Botha’s mind was struggling to comprehend what was going on. “It felt unreal,” she said, “but it wasn’t.” “There was no pain, but it wasn’t a dream.” This was happening. “He was attempting to sever my throat.”

As they retreated, Botha could hear the men praising their work and speaking in Afrikaans. “Do you think she’s dead?” one of the attackers inquired. “No one can survive that,” the other said.

Du Toit and Kruger then left, ostensibly satisfied with having killed her. They were, however, unaware that Botha was still alive.

“I had to leave some clue of who did this to me,” Botha thought as he lay alone atop sand and shattered glass. She decided to etch the names of her assailants into the ground. Then she wrote underneath, “I love Mom.”

Botha, on the other hand, quickly realized she had a chance of survival. In the distance, she could see headlights streaking through the bushes. If she could just get to the road, she reasoned, someone might be able to help her.

Alison Botha’s Rescue And Rehabilitation

Alison Botha realized the extent of her injuries as she approached the headlights. Her head began to fall backwards as she began to pull herself up, as if she had been beheaded.

Her intestines were also protruding from her abdomen, which she could feel. She had to use one hand to keep her organs from leaking out and the other to literally hold her own head together.

“As I struggled forward, my vision began to fade and I fell numerous times,” Botha recalled, “but I was able to get back up until I reached the road.”

She passed out along the white line. Even in her daze, she was aware that this was the best spot to catch the attention of a passing motorist.

Botha, thankfully, did not have to wait long. Tiaan Eilerd, a young veterinary student from Johannesburg on vacation in Port Elizabeth, came to a halt when he saw Botha lying in the middle of the road.

Eilerd later explained, “God put me on that road that night for a reason.”

He reinserted Botha’s exposed thyroid into her body using his veterinary training. Eilerd then requested assistance from emergency services.

Alison Botha was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were taken aback by her horrific injuries. Alexander Angelov, a physician, later stated that in his 16 years of practice, he had never seen such severe injuries.

Arrest, Trial and Sentencing

Botha was on the verge of death. She did, however, survive, and she remembered everything about her assailants. While still in the hospital, she recognized them from police photographs. As a result, the “Ripper Rapists,” as the press dubbed them, were apprehended quickly.

The subsequent “Noordhoek Ripper Trial” drew widespread attention in South Africa. Du Toit and Kruger both pleaded guilty to eight counts of kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder. They were both found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in August 1995.

Despite the fact that the worst of the ordeal had passed, Alison Botha was left with physical and emotional scars.