MAN ACCUSED OF ORCHESTRATING MURDERS OF PARTNER AND SON, DENIED BAIL
A man accused of orchestrating the murders of his partner and her son, Freddie Stapelberg(34), was denied bail by the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court. Stapelberg was arrested and charged with two counts of premeditated murder and another two of attempted murder, following the emergence of information about his alleged involvement as the mastermind behind the murders of Nadine Terblanche and her son Ruandre Voster, who were allegedly hacked to death at their home in Alberton, on 27 November 2023. Terblanche’s gardener, Pardon Danhire (accused 1), confessed to authorities and fingered Stapelberg (accused 2), as the person who hired him to kill Terblanche to gain access to her assets and/or money in the event of her death.
In opposing the application by the accused to be released on bail, the affidavit of Sergeant Mmakgabo Itumeleng Moloto was read into the record, detailing the strength of the State’s case against the accused and why he is deemed an unsuitable candidate to be admitted into bail. Senior State Advocate Riana Williams argued against the release of the accused 2 on bail, citing that it would undermine the proper functioning of the criminal justice system and that the accused is likely to interfere with the ongoing investigations as most of the state witnesses are known to the accused. She further submitted that considering the serious nature of the offences against the applicant, which carries the imposition of a prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment, coupled with the fact that the applicant now knows how strong the State’s case is against him, would be an inducement to abscond or evade his trial when released on bail.
The NPA welcomes the decision to keep the accused in detention as his release would have undermined public confidence in the criminal justice system.
