Alison Botha is a motivational speaker, author and former insurance broker known in the world as the ‘Noordhoek Victim’. She survived the brutality of two men who raped, stabbed and opened her.
Her story is truly one of the most terrifying and heart-pounding of all. The event took place in December 1994, but people continue to talk about it to this day. So, what happened that day? How was she kidnapped? Who were her attackers? Is Alison Botha’s story real? What is Alison doing now? Is she married? Who is her husband? There are many questions about Mrs Botha.
This article explains all the details about the event and also explains how she became an author and motivational speaker. So without further ado, let’s dive straight into Alison’s life.
Who is Alison Botha? Her life before the kidnapping
Alison is a motivational speaker born on September 22, 1967, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She was born to Brian and Claire Botha. Her parents divorced when she was 10. She and her brother Neale have lived with their mother ever since.
Similarly, when we talk about her ethnicity, she has a white ethnic background and is South African by her nationality.
Speaking of her education, she attended The Collegiate High School for Girls in Port Elizabeth. However, not much is known about her further studies. Later she started working as an insurance broker.
Alison Botha was kidnapped from her apartment parking lot
It was a pretty ordinary day for Alison, as the then 27-year-old had spent the day with her friends, enjoyed the beach, and returned to her apartment with them for pizza and games. After a while, she and Alison dropped her friend Kim off at her house and returned to her apartment.
It was the night of December 18, 1994, after parking her car, the motivational speaker was picking up her laundry from the passenger seat when she suddenly saw a man with a knife open the driver’s door and said, “Come on, or I’ll kill you”. She was scared and did as she was told. The man took control of the vehicle and drove off with her still in the car.
A moment passed and the man said, “I don’t want to hurt you, I just want to use your car for an hour.” at the time he identified himself as Clinton. But later research shows that his real name is Frans du Toit. He picked up his colleague Theuns Kruger and drove to the outskirts of the city.
Alison Botha was raped, stabbed and left to die
The car stopped in a deserted area and the two men looked at her and said they would have sex with her and asked her if she would fight back. Alison, alone and scared, said no.
The two took turns raping her and later decided to kill her. Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger had a history of assaulting women. They tried to choke her to death, but in vain. She just lost consciousness, but was still breathing.
The two were surprised to see her still alive and to make sure they finish her off for good this time, they stabbed her more than 30 times in her abdomen and opened her entrails. She was still alive, however, and with frustration they decided to slit her throat. The two criminals slit her throat 16 times to be exact.
She later recalled the event says:
“I was outside the car and on the sand now on broken glass. All I could see was an arm moving above my face. Left and right and left and right. His movements made noise. A wet sound, it was the sound of my flesh being cut open. He slit my throat with the knife. Again and again and again.”
Both attackers were happy with what they have achieved and speaking in Afrikaans, one of them said: “Do you think she will live?” the other replied, “No one can survive that.” The two left her to die and fled in Alison’s car.
How Alison Botha survived the attack and lived to tell the story
After being brutally assaulted and raped, Alison had no hope of survival. But she thought to herself that she could at least let people know who did this to her and wrote their names in the sand and underneath she wrote ‘I love mommy’.
Alison is a fighter, even after enduring such brutality she knew she wouldn’t give up. She thought to herself, “There was so much I still wanted to do, so much I still wanted to live for.”
Botha started to crawl when she realized her guts were coming out. She found her denim shirt and used it to assemble the organs. Thinking back to the event, she said:
“It was time to move. Struggling through dirty and broken glass, I crawled into the shirt with one hand. With each subsequent movement I became more and more tired. At one point I sank exhausted into the sand.”
to add:
“But then the thought of my mother came to me, and I knew I had to move on. So I pushed myself back up and kept crawling, but it took too long. Then I knew I had to get up.”
As she tried to get up, her head fell back, but with her survival instincts, she pulled it forward and continued to drive toward the road. Botha lay by the side of the road, hoping someone would see her and rescue her.
Luckily luck was on her side veterinary medicine student named Tiaan Eilerd, who later became an anesthesiologist, stopped and did what he had to do to keep her alive until the ambulance arrived. She was rushed to the nearest hospital. The hospital staff were terrified and didn’t believe Alison would survive. A doctor by the name of Alexender Angelov said he had never seen a patient with as many injuries as her in his 16 years of experience.
The operation lasted more than three hours and miraculously she was safe. Doctors even advised that she had no major problems and Alison was discharged even after three weeks.
The Ripper Rapists were caught and sentenced to life imprisonment
Alison helped identify the attackers when she was questioned by police at the hospital. The two were arrested and found guilty of eight charges, including rape, kidnapping and attempted murder.
Port Elizabeth Supreme Court Judge Chris Jansen sentenced them to: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in August 1995.
Her Life Right Now: She’s an Author and a Motivational Speaker
Alison’s story is truly terrifying and sends shivers down the spine of anyone who has heard of it. So, what is Alison up to these days? How did the horrific event change her life? Many of you would think she feels depressed and traumatized, but you are not wrong, she was indeed traumatized. On the contrary, she decided to change her life and now she works as a motivational speaker and is also an author.
It all started when Alison was ready to be called the ‘Noordhoek victim’. She wanted a new beginning and soon got one, in December 1995 she decided to quit her job and start a career as a motivational speaker when someone asked what she would charge for it and the rest is history.
Since then, she has traveled the world inspiring people from more than 35 countries about how she went through the incident and the physical and emotional trauma she endured. In addition to motivating people, she has also been recognized for her work, including the Paul Harris Award for Courage Beyond the Norm. Women of courageand Port Elizabeth’s Citizen of the Year price.
In addition to being an inspiring speaker, she is also an author. Alison has released her book I have a life in which she openly discussed the events and how she was able to take the tragic experience and make it her stronghold.
Moreover, inspired by her life story a documentary by the name Alison the movie was published with a picture of all the things she had to go through during and after the attack.
Is Alison married? Who is her husband?
Alison found love in Tienie Botha. The couple walked in down the aisle February 1997. Since then they have been together and enjoy a happy and happy married life.
About how they got to know each other, they knew each other for quite some time. The duo met at a mutual friend’s house a year after the attack. At the time, Tienie was also going through a depression as a result of childhood trauma. Likewise, Alison also went through a bit of the same situation. Remembering the time she said:
“I think our mutual despair was the basis for deepening our friendship as we helped each other get out of the ‘dark’. There was no specific thing that happened or the moment I knew he was ‘the one’ – it was just the most natural thing for us to discuss the future, knowing we would spend the rest of our lives together.”
Alison and Tiene are blessed with two sons. The inspiring speaker gave birth to her first child Daniel Botha On Nov 14, 2003and her second son Matthew Botha arrived three years later in Nov 2006.
Alison Botha .’s net worth
The famous survivor is estimated to have a net worth of $1 million. She has built her career as a motivational speaker and author.
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