After five years and a pending, groundbreaking double homicide judgment, the answers to the mysterious circumstances in which a young couple from the Tsitsikamma were found dead in the shower of a popular River Lodge (Die Kliphuis) on the Zuuranys farm outside Kareedouw have still never been truthfully answered.
In fact, NONE of the crucial questions in this sensational, media-driven case have ever been asked by the media. Not a single journalist even bothered to visit the site or to speak to the only eyewitness, Stephan Du Plessis (now 30), who invited the couple for a braai during the peak of the Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
ONLY Stephan du Plessis can know or explain what truly happened on that fateful evening of Saturday 25 April 2020 when his friends, Jéan Vosloo (25) and Mari Hoon (28), allegedly went to shower in the spacious, well-ventilated bathroom around 21:00 . . . and never came out again.
Stephan allegedly only started looking for them the next morning and saw their lifeless bodies on the floor through a crack in the door when he tried to force it open. The bathroom door was locked from the inside, and their clothes were reportedly meticulously folded and stacked.
Instead of breaking down the wooden door, he phoned the owner of the Zuuranys farm on which the Kliphuis is situated, Kevin Pretorius (52), and asked him what he should do.
None of the journalists of the various media outlets who sensationalised this tragedy over the past five years into a media frenzy have ever bothered to speak to the owner, Kevin Pretorius, to ask whether the youngsters even had permission to stay there during the Covid lockdown when the lodge was officially closed for guests, like all businesses in the hospitality trade at that time.
The Du Plessis family are neighbours of Kevin Pretorius and rent the farm Zuuranys from him as grazing land for their sheep and cattle since Kevin no longer farms actively himself. The Kliphuis River cottage was originally built as a family gathering place for the Pretorius family after Kevin’s father bought the farm Zuuranys in the early 1960s. Friends and family spent most weekends and holidays there in pristine nature on the banks of the Kouga River, guarded by the Zuuranys mountain range, after which the farm was named.
Eventually, by word of mouth and thanks to its rustic ambience in exquisite surroundings, the Kliphuis became so popular that Kevin occasionally started operating it as a guest house as well, in 2009. The Du Plessis family and their son, Stephan, also knew the Kliphuis well and spent time there over the years. Never ever before, since its inception, have there been any incidents of “gas leaking” or people falling ill due to it.
On the contrary, all the inscriptions in the Guest Books since its inception are witness to raving compliments and gratitude for spending the most enjoyable times “in heaven” in one of the most beautiful spots on earth.
So what truly happened on that fateful weekend at the height of severe Covid lockdowns, when people were masked and forced to stay indoors, forbidden to travel or leave their homes and towns unless they had written approval for “essential business” and were even not allowed to buy alcohol, cigarettes and certain “non-essential” items . . . ?
Says Kevin Pretorius, himself a family man and father of two teenage girls who have spent many wonderful family weekends and holidays at the Kliphuis since young:
“The Kliphuis was closed since lockdown was officially enforced in March 2020, and nobody was allowed in or even tried to book since they all knew the regulations. Then Stephan contacted me to ask whether he and a few friends could go there during the long weekend (Freedom Day on 27 April) to braai and relax. I explicitly told him the lodge was closed – no bedding, cleaning services and the electricity, water and geyser were turned off, and no maintenance was being done since nobody knew how long those lockdown regulations were going to be enforced. I also mentioned the kitchen was a mess, as I was busy working on the cupboard drawers and hinges, which were still lying on the floor.
“He contacted me again to say it was okay – they don’t need any cleaning or ‘services’ and only want to relax by the river, braai and have a good time.
“I had always enjoyed good relationships with my neighbours and townfolks, and eventually agreed that they could use the braai facilities to ‘kuier’ and relax at the river. I was thinking that it must be hard for youngsters to be so restricted, and that no harm can be done if they want to spend time outdoors in nature at the river, as Stephan has often done before.
“When Stephan contacted me on the Saturday before they arrived to say they would need Wi-Fi and whether I would come to connect the batteries for the Wi-Fi, I was even a bit upset to have to drive all the way out there when I was looking forward to a relaxed weekend at home myself.”
* The road from Kevin’s house to the Kliphuis is very rugged, with steep abysses and is only accessible by 4×4 vehicles. It takes at least 30 minutes to get there and back from Kevin’s house.
“When I got there, Stephan and his two friends were sitting outside at the braai area, enjoying a few drinks. I briefly greeted them, went inside to connect the batteries for the Wi-Fi, and left.
“The next morning, around 09:00, Stephan called to ask for help as the bathroom door at the Kliphuis was locked from the inside and his friends were lying on the floor . . . “
“Since then, my life and livelihood have gradually and irrevocably been destroyed. I have been portrayed in the media as this monster whose deliberate negligence caused numerous people to ‘get sick’, and a young couple to die.
“I have still not been able to get my head around it and how it came to this – being found guilty of double homicide because I did my neighbour’s son a favour by allowing them to braai and relax at the Kliphuis during lockdown, as hundreds of people have been doing without ANY incident, complaint or problem over the past 25 years.
“The fact that I didn’t check the outdoor geyser chimney and flue that day, or saw that it was broken and probably vandalised by baboons while the place was locked up, has now become the main focus point of the entire tragedy. Stephan knew the place was unattended and unavailable for guests during lockdown and that no maintenance was being done. When they themselves turned on the water and put the batteries into the geyser at the back of the house, they obviously also didn’t notice the hole in the wall where the flue was broken out.
“Now I am held responsible and accused of murder for giving in to Stephan’s pleas for them to use the braai facilities during a national lockdown? I acted in good faith and neighbourly goodwill . . . but now this feels like the worst betrayal imaginable . . . “
The first sensationalised media propaganda started long before any toxicology or autopsy results were even available and was based on pure “hearsay” evidence of “friends of friends of friends” of Jéan Vosloo’s family, as stated by Dr Lawton Vosloo himself in this Carte Blanche TV broadcast in 2020.
None of these “friends” who came forward and testified how they allegedly also “smelled gas, got sick and almost died” during their stay in 2019 in the same Kliphuis could provide any medical proof or test results that they indeed tested positive for carbon monoxide poisoning.
They just “assumed” after this fatal incident that it “must have been due to gas leaking”. Unlike normal gas with its distinctive smell from gas leakage, carbon monoxide is odourless and undetectable by human senses. None of them could also provide any proof – verbal or in writing – that they ever notified Kevin of “gas smells” or that they were hospitalised or treated for medically confirmed “carbon monoxide poisoning” due to a faulty geyser.
“Nobody complained of gas leakages or anything related to the geyser in the bathroom, as there is plenty ventilation and the outside chimney worked perfectly before the Covid-19 lock-down. If there were serious or substantiated complaints, I obviously would have checked, as my own family spent at least one weekend per month at the Kliphuis! Would I endanger my own kids’ lives if I had been warned about a faulty geyser in 2019 already?” Kevin asks.
Strangely enough, none of the people who stayed in the guest house immediately before the fatal incident experienced any problems . . . just like the hundreds of people who stayed there since the 1990’s after it was built.
What truly happened during that fatal weekend excursion of a few youngsters during the Covid-19 lockdown will probably never be revealed. Two of them sadly died, and the only witness who can explain how and what truly happened, Stephan du Plessis, refuses to talk and “doesn’t want to get involved”.
CRUCIAL FACTS THAT THE “MEDIA” COMPLETELY IGNORED:
- The electricity, water and geyser in the Kliphuis were turned off during lockdown. Kevin went the Saturday afternoon to connect the power batteries for the Wi-Fi, but which of the three youngsters turned the outside water on and put the batteries in the geyser? If they intended to shower and specifically turned the geyser on without noticing the broken chimney flue outside, how can the owner be blamed for their unapproved conduct?
- If Jéan allegedly went to shower at least half an hour before Mari joined him, why did she not notice he was affected by ignited gas and why did she lock the door from the inside to join him in the shower? The open-plan bathroom is spacious and well-ventilated with many windows and the shower has no door – it is around a corner for privacy and even has a window and a huge square outlet on the floor for the water to directly flow outside which adds extra ventilation.
- Why didn’t Stephan bother to check on his “guests” later that evening, and where were they supposed to sleep if no sleeping arrangements had been made with Kevin? If you invite friends to a place they have never been before, surely you play host and make sure they are comfortable and settled before you go to sleep yourself? There were no towels, linen or bedding in the Kliphuis during lockdown, so the youngsters would have had to bring their own IF they planned to stay overnight.
- Why wasn’t a word ever mentioned about the stack of empty liquour bottles and broken glasses found on the scene, including the infamous, potent home-brewed Karrie Beer, which is so popular in the Kareedouw area and still sold locally? Rumour is the youngsters bought it locally on their way to the Kouga Kliphouse that same fateful Saturday.
- The difference between a carbon monoxide (CO) leak and natural gas leakage was explicitly explained by experts during the trial. A gas leak is typically from a natural gas or propane line, while a CO leak is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Natural gas is a fuel that is made to smell like sulphur or rotten eggs by adding a chemical called mercaptan so it can easily be detected by smell. Carbon monoxide is odourless, colourless, and tasteless, and a CO leak is usually detected by a specific detector. The guests who claimed they “smelled gas in the kitchen” but suffered from “carbon monoxide” probably made their own assumptions after reading the media stories as none of them could provide toxicology reports confirming carbon monoxide poisoning.
MOVE FOR MISTRIAL
- The state’s entire “double homicide” case solely rests on the unsupported and unsubstantiated “hearsay” testimony of four “friends of friends of friends” of the Vosloo family. None of their claims could be verified by official medical or other proof, and nobody before or after them experienced ANY such problems . . . until that fatal Freedom Day weekend during the Covid lockdown.
If you look at this Carte Blanche programme again, it is obvious how this unsubstantiated evidence by four “friends of friends of friends” of the grieving Vosloo family had turned the entire tragedy into a media feeding frenzy, where a sad freak accident became a relentless murder crusade driven by the media and the need for revenge of a heartbroken family.
All it took was an ambitious, fame-seeking state prosecutor, Johan Jansen, who skillfully diverted the investigation from a fact-finding mission into a complicated technical legalese involving gas geysers and the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, which baffled the inexperienced magistrate Vuziwe Mnyani to such an extent that she could only conclude that ‘the state has provided sufficient evidence to prove double homicide.’
- In this outrageous and premature Carte Blanche broadcast, neither Stephan du Plessis nor Kevin Pretorius were even questioned. The presenter even got Stephan’s surname wrong and talked about Du Toit instead of Du Plessis.
- Neither did the Carte Blanche team take the trouble to visit the scene to check for themselves the position and working of the geyser and the outdoor chimney flue that was probably broken or vandalised by baboons during lockdown, when the Kliphuis was closed and unattended?
Also read:
Dankie vir die waarheid!
Al loop die leuen ook HOE snel, die waarheid agterhaal hom wel . . .
Time the other side of the story come out,may the truth come out,and there be justice for Kevin !
NEVER too late – hope the entire Kouga commuity will help to overturn this gross INjustice . . .
With all the technology available these days it was a tradegy non of these were used available . For a prosecutor to blatantly swing from a factual case to hearsay. And smoke and mirrors not even question the relevant people is indeed shocking. As for carte blanche. Very disappointed. But th3n again with Derek Watson not there the standards took a nose dive. The owner in my opinion would never have allowed them.. but that is not a reason to find him guilty of murder.
I was just as shocked at the totally PREMATURE and sensationalised documentary on Carte Blanche long before ANY test results were even done . . . and the fact that those people were allowed to tell their “shocking” stories on air without anyone asking them for medical “PROOF” that they indeed suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning? That is the lowest form of journalism and just another example of the level that corporate media sunk into since 1999 when all “journalism” in the country was sold out for shares in China’s Tencent technology . . . Today, with Holly/Bollywood Warner Bros owning the western world media, it is nothing but “staged performances” and “fake virtual reality” on screens . . . Indeed, very sad.
I hope that Truth will prevail. That Kevin’s side will be heard and that there will be justice for him. An innocent man.
Kevin is the most kind, loving person I know. Always ready to help anyone.
A man of integrity.