'I loved him as my own son'

THE parents of Louwrens Gebhardt, 18, who was killed with a baseball bat last week, are broken by his death.

He was struck on the head on Thursday after he tried to protect a school mate getting beaten by a man outside the Westonaria High School grounds on the West Rand.

His father Henry Gebhardt said his last born was a peacemaker. "He tried to help and stop the fight but ended up getting hit for no reason."

The argument was allegedly about a piece of chalk.

"How many parents must see what we saw?" his mother Retha Gebhardt asked.

"It's hard to accept that your child was murdered for nothing. Just a piece of chalk."

Elisa Kgalapa, the domestic worker at the Gebhardt house, was equally devastated.

She had known Louwrens since he was in Grade 1 and took him as her son.

Kgalapa said: "I loved him very much. He even helped me raise my own daughter."

Her nine-year-old daughter said: "I loved him a lot. He helped me with homework. He made food for me and helped me with reading.

"He was like my brother."

Constable Lienkie Lefakane said the killer is still at large.

The Gebhardts called for calm. "We don't want the community to take revenge. Justice will prevail and God will make sure that happens." - The Times