Published by Zebra Press

an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Reg. No. 1953/000441/07

The Estuaries No. 4, Oxbow Crescent, Century Avenue, Century City, 7441

PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

www.zebrapress.co.za

First published 2015

Publication © Penguin Random House 2015

Text © Jana van der Merwe 2015

Cover photographs © Grave photo: Charl Devenish/ Volksblad/Foto24;

Michael van Eck: Facebook; Chané van Heerden: Theo Jeptha/

Volksblad/Foto24;

Maartens van der Merwe: Charl Devenish/ Volksblad/Foto24

Knife: WO Ernst du Ru/SAPS/Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval

system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying,

recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the

copyright owners.

PUBLISHER: Marlene Fryer

MANAGING EDITOR: Janet Bartlet

EDITOR: Ronel Richter-Herbert

PROOFREADER: Bronwen Leak

COVER DESIGNER: Monique Cleghorn

TEXT DESIGNER: Ryan Africa

TYPESETTER: Tessa Fortuin

ISBN 978 1 77022 776 7 (print)

ISBN 978 1 77022 777 4 (ePub)

ISBN 978 1 77022 778 1 (PDF)

In loving memory of Michael Ignatius van Eck 14 August 1987–3 April

2011

Contents

Author’s note

Discovering the murder scene

The search

Leading the pack

4
The day of the murder

Along came a little girl

The cell

The courtroom

The funeral

The monster of Welkom

10 Norman and Lilith

11 The birth of a relationship

12 The cemetery

13 Making fantasy a reality

14 The advocate

15 The dog that was spared

16 Satan’s spawn?

17 Psycho

18 Serial skinner
19 Profiling a dangerous criminal

20 The grave murder

21 Throwing away the key

22 A cry for help – or not?

23 Judgment Day

24 Sleepwalker

25 Maartens in the dock

26 Voice from the grave

27 The naked soul of a murderer

28 Nightmares

29 Justice is served

Notes

Bibliography

Author’s note

It was shortly before midnight on Sunday 3 April 2011 when I learnt of the

story Volksblad was to exclusively publish on Monday’s front page. In a

state

of utter disbelief, I went to bed thinking of the news South Africa was to

wake up to the next morning. The details of the murder committed in the

Welkom cemetery unfolded over the next days, weeks and months, and
each
revelation was more shocking than the last. The memory of what had

happened lingered in my mind long after the killers were convicted.

In 2013 my former colleague at Rapport, Jacques Steenkamp, was in the

process of writing his first, now bestselling, true-crime book when I told
him

of my idea to write a book about the crime committed in Welkom. He urged

me to contact his publisher, Marlene Fryer, at Penguin Random House, and

the rest is history. Thank you to my initial managing editor, Ronel Richter-

Herbert, who believed in this project so much that she became my editor,
and

to my eventual managing editor, Janet Bartlet, for all her help and support

throughout the process.

Writing and, moreover, researching this book has been an emotional and

taxing journey, and telling this once-in-a-lifetime story would not have been

possible without Candice Botha, a former classmate from the University of

KwaZulu-Natal, who edited the first draft of this book. I can’t thank you

enough.

To all the major role players in this book who shared their stories while

they would rather forget: Lieutenant Ogies Nel, Advocate Johan de

Nysschen, Warrant Officer Eben van Zyl, Warrant Officer Lynda Steyn,
Danie Krügel, Warrant Officer Fanie du Plessis, Warrant Officer Ernst de
Ru,

Professor Dap Louw, Doctor Sonja Loots and Brigadier Gerard

Labuschagne

– my admiration for you transcends words.

Thank you also to Ephraim Morolong and ‘Roy Verster’ for your

assistance. Roy is the only person in the book for whom a pseudonym is

used. The reason for this is because he has suffered tremendous abuse and

victimisation for being a friend of Maartens van der Merwe. The

community

and people on social media accused Roy of being involved in the murder
and

for having known what would happen. He did not know and he was not

involved.

To my colleagues and friends Claudi and Annami Mailovich, Charles

Visser, Felix Dlangamandla, Mary-Ann Palmer, Pauli van Wyk, Vania van

der Heever and the rest of my colleagues and former colleagues at

Volksblad,

Beeld and Rapport – you know who you are – your every word of

encouragement got me here.

Words cannot express the love and gratitude I have for my family for their

unconditional love and support throughout my life and career – my mother,

Georgina, brothers Johann and Richart, Roxane, Nada, Keke and my father

JJK van der Merwe. A special thanks also to my partner Willie Venter and

his family, Dawie and Marita, Lelanie and Carl.

I pray for healing for the Van Eck family, Michael’s parents and sisters

who loved him and who were robbed of him so tragically.

My wish is that everyone reading this book will get a glimpse into the

psyches of the two serial-killers-in-the-making who were stopped before

they

could kill again and gain insight into what was, in the opinion of many, one

of the worst and most perplexing murder cases ever reported on in South

Africa’s crime history.

JANA VAN DER MERWE

JOHANNESBURG

OCTOBER 2015

Discovering the murder scene

In the silence of his office, the graveyard supervisor startled as the

cellphone

sitting on his orderly wooden desk trembled unexpectedly.

Ephraim Morolong frowned as he looked at the name flashing on the

screen, the piercing sound disturbing the calm. He had arrived just a
moment

before with the workmen to take on a hard day of overtime labour at the

Welkom cemetery instead of attending church that Sunday morning.

Morolong, an upright middle-aged man with short salt-and-pepper hair,

had reported for work at 8 a.m. sharp to get a grip on the long grass that had

grown lush after the summer rains. The morning’s weather had been
pleasant

and it promised to be a sunny day. The weather bureau predicted more rain

for that week, however, and for Ephraim this would only mean more work
for

his already short-staffed team. He was in on a Sunday himself hoping to get

ahead on some urgent paperwork before handing in his quarterly report on

Monday.

Surrounded by flat, grassy, rural landscape, maize crops, cattle farms and

mine dumps, the Welkom cemetery is isolated from the mining city of

Welkom, which is set in the Goldfields of central South Africa,

approximately 150 kilometres north of Bloemfontein, the Free State

province’s capital city. The city’s main burial ground lies at the foot of one
of

these mine dumps, less than seven kilometres outside of the city and on the
R30 towards the town of Odendaalsrus.

This massive terrain, with at least 10 000 graves, had begun to look

increasingly downtrodden and unkempt over the years, the ever-increasing

number of graves having become overwhelming.

Ephraim had armed the small group of men and women, clad in dark-green

overalls and hats, with picks and shovels to get on with the day’s work
before

he put on the kettle and settled down at his desk with his paperwork.

‘Ephraim, you have to come see this,’ said the frantic voice in Sesotho at

the other end of the phone line.

Although locals would regularly tell one another that the cemetery is a

popular hangout for illegal miners, known as zama-zamas, who perpetrate

crime in the area, Ephraim had never had any problems.

Apart from all the burials he oversees every day of the week, only once

had he come across a dead body that was not brought there to be buried – a

father and husband who had come to the graveyard one night to put an end
to

his life and financial woes with a single bullet to the head. Ephraim found
his

ice-cold body the next morning between the entrance and the parking lot.
Another time, he had come across a young woman with her head thrown
back

on the verge of unconsciousness in her small vehicle, her breathing shallow.

Ephraim hastily disconnected the hosepipe pumping its toxic and

suffocating

fumes from the exhaust and jerked the other end out of her car window.

Smashing the glass to unlock the door, he dragged her unconscious body to

safety. She survived. The unsung hero continued his work.

That Sunday, 3 April 2011, Ephraim could hear the alarm in Daniel

Ranthimo’s voice. Daniel, his trusted foreman and six years his junior, had

also just arrived, along with Ephraim and the others from the township of

Thabong. He was pushing a lawnmower towards the yellow boom gate

when

he made the find.

‘Wait, I’m coming,’ Ephraim said, and silenced the phone.

An hour earlier

At the Welkom police station, the 12-hour shift had hardly changed when
the

chatting police officers enjoying their first early-morning coffee received a

radio call. Two colleagues who had also started their shift were patrolling
the

empty streets of the inner-city business district of Welkom when a security

guard alerted them to an apparently abandoned silver-grey Peugeot 207 at
the

Zone 1 taxi rank. They noted that the vehicle was unlocked, with the keys

still in the ignition.

A quick search of the number plate on the South African Police Service’s

(SAPS) system indicated that the vehicle had not been reported stolen.

Leaving the vehicle in the care of a security guard at the Boxer Superstore,

the two police officers left the taxi rank to go and knock at the door of the

vehicle’s owner, whose address was situated in the leafy suburb of Bedelia.

Ephraim approached his agitated colleagues, who were waiting at the

yellow

boom gate. The boom was still down. Daniel led his supervisor to a large,

fresh pool of blood seeping through the tawny sand with which it had been

covered. Ephraim knew instantly: someone had bled out here like an
animal.

‘There’s more,’ said Daniel. Behind the boom gate Ephraim saw the

bloody smears leading up onto the tarred driveway of the graveyard.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he followed Daniel towards the Jewish

chapel, an uninteresting building of regular bricks, a brown slate roof, white

painted awnings and three small windows on either side. Near it, in front of
the Jewish burial ground, Daniel pointed at what looked like more splashes
of

blood on the stone paving and grass. In the middle of the patch of grass, a

torn, blood-soaked rag lay discarded. Daniel bent over to pick it up.

‘Leave it!’ Ephraim instructed.

He wandered to the left side of the chapel, where he discovered more

blood.

Ephraim told his colleagues to stand back. He gathered his thoughts while

he searched through the contact numbers on his phone. Before he could

make

a call to his own manager at the Matjhabeng Local Municipality or the

police,

a vehicle with tyres screeching almost came to an abrupt standstill before

turning into the cemetery from the main road. The vehicle drove through
the

stone-walled entrance with the rundown signage that read ‘Welkom

Cemetery/Begraafplaas’.

Once in the parking lot, the vehicle’s doors flew open. Two women came

running towards them, a man hot on their heels.

Naas van Eck and his wife, Henriëtte, were fast asleep in their home when

they were awoken by the bell situated on the electrified gate at the end of
their driveway.

Naas met the two policemen outside in the street. They explained the

discovery of the abandoned silver Peugeot in the city centre.

‘What abandoned vehicle?’ Henriëtte asked, now wearing a gown and

slippers. She looked at her husband for answers and then back at the police

officers.

One of the policemen recited the registration number starting with FS,

short for Free State, followed by the numbers the Van Ecks knew so well.

Henriëtte felt as if she had been stabbed in the chest. It was the registration

number of their son Michael’s car.

The 23-year-old had only had the silver Peugeot for about five months. Six

months earlier, he had been involved in an accident with his first, brand-
new

Peugeot. He and his sparkling-blue vehicle had collided with another car,

whose driver had wrongly turned in front of him. Although Michael was not

seriously injured in the accident, the damage to the vehicle was severe

enough for his insurance company to write it off. Naas had helped his son to

replace the car with another new Peugeot, as Michael had just started an

internship as an electrician at the Beatrix Gold Mine’s Shaft 4, also on the

R30 but in the opposite direction of the graveyard, towards Theunissen.

Michael certainly gave the impression of a spoilt brat, but Naas argued that

his son needed the car to get to work. The son, who had his father’s strong

features, appreciated his parents’ kindness, and vowed to pay them back.
He

was exceptionally vigilant of his new car, which at night was parked
securely

behind the very gates where they were now standing in the yard.

Henriëtte noticed that the car was indeed missing, but Michael was

supposed to have left for work by then anyway. She felt uneasy as she
walked

at pace to his flat, which was semi-detached from the house. She found it

locked, as expected.

Henriëtte brought out a spare key and went inside. She observed the room.

All the objects that were part of her son’s religious grooming ritual lay
about:

a can of fresh, masculine deodorant, a hairbrush, scattered items of branded

clothing. His bed was made. Everything was just the way it was before he

had left the house the night before for an evening out with a mystery girl.

Henriëtte lit up a cigarette and phoned his cellphone. It went straight to

voicemail. It suddenly dawned on her that her and Naas’s only son had not

returned home the night before.

The distressed parents began by immediately phoning Michael’s three

older sisters.

Natasha, the oldest of Michael’s sisters, had left the nest years ago, when

she married a mineworker like her father. She detected a hint of panic in her

mother’s voice as she explained about Michael’s abandoned car. Natasha’s

husband, Ronald, also worked at the Beatrix mine, and they decided he’d be

in the best position to get hold of Michael’s supervisor.

When Ronald called, Barno Kruger confirmed that they had also grown

concerned. Michael had not arrived at work for his shift earlier that
morning.

They thought he might be sick or had experienced car trouble.

Henriëtte and Naas set off with the police to the taxi rank, frantically

phoning as many people as possible to try to determine Michael’s

whereabouts. His friends and colleagues knew nothing.

As they arrived at the taxi rank across the street from the Boxer Superstore,

the police and Michael’s parents looked on as a young black male got in

behind the wheel of Michael’s car, preparing to drive off. The store’s
security

guard, who was supposed to be looking after the car, was evidently missing

in action – probably as it was towards the end of his graveyard shift. The
police and the Van Ecks came to a halt in their respective vehicles. The
father

was the first to jump out.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ shouted Naas.

He wrenched the man out of the car.

‘Where is my son?’ he yelled, tightening his grip.

The police officers calmed Naas down and began to question the man

about what he was doing in the apparently missing Michael van Eck’s car.

The man, noticeably disabled, with one wooden leg, rambled on in slurred

speech.

By then Michael’s other sister Bianka and her husband, Andries, had also

come to the taxi rank to help in the search for Michael.

‘Dad! That bastard is getting into your bakkie!’ yelled Andries.

Henriëtte realised that not only had this drunk fool tried to steal Michael’s

car, another couple of men had now also seized the opportunity to steal
their

car. Henriëtte fearlessly confronted them.

‘Oh,’ shrugged one of the men, ‘we got into the wrong car …’

The thieves took off down the street, their pathetic excuse left hanging.

Henriëtte could not think how this day could get any worse. Not only was
her son missing, but the police seemed completely incapable of taking
charge

of the situation. This unthinkable crisis had degenerated into a circus.

Once the one-legged man was officially arrested, Naas and Henriëtte

proceeded to the Welkom police station.

The police grilled the would-be thief mercilessly.

‘Why is there blood on the car handles?’ They had discovered traces of

blood by the front handles on either side of the vehicle.

‘Where is Michael?’

‘What were you doing in his car?’

The police officials sneered as the man blurted out that his friend Thabo

had called him to pick up the car. He alleged that Thabo had requested him
to

take it to the Sasol filling station in Long Road.

The police accompanied the man to the filling station and asked about.

Nobody there had any knowledge of a Thabo.

While the police were out questioning the thief about his friend, Natasha

called her parents, who were waiting at the police station.

‘Mom, Michael’s supervisor is at the house. He needs to speak to you.’

Henriëtte left her husband at the station to meet Barno Kruger in their

driveway.
‘The graveyard,’ Barno said, with no further explanation. They got back

into their cars and raced to the R30, heading towards the Welkom cemetery.

Ephraim saw the women running towards him. He did not even have a

chance to phone his manager, never mind the police.

The older woman, stocky with short, bleached-blonde hair, was followed

closely by a much younger woman with long, dark-blonde hair. Trailing

behind them was a grey-haired man.

‘Michael, Michael!’ cried the stocky woman in a raspy voice, her eyes

darting across the terrain.

She turned to Ephraim. ‘Has anything bad happened here?’ she asked him

unexpectedly.

This was the first time Ephraim would meet Henriëtte van Eck and her

daughter Natasha.

‘We are looking for Michael. Michael,’ repeated Natasha.

Ephraim shook his head. He cautiously told her that he did not know what

had transpired there, but that they suspected they had walked into a crime

scene as they came to work.

‘There’s a lot of blood. Who is Mich—’

Mid-sentence, he saw Henriëtte freeze. She dashed to the torn, blood-

soaked rag on the ground.

‘It’s Michael’s!’ she exclaimed, as she fell to her knees. She held the

bloody T-shirt to her chest.

‘What’s going on? Who’s Michael?’ Ephraim asked.

Henriëtte stumbled upright, what was left of the T-shirt still clasped in her

hands.

Ephraim put out his arm, gently forcing her to put the shirt back down.

With increasing urgency she again began shouting for Michael.

‘Michael’s my son,’ she said, turning to Ephraim. ‘Have you seen him?’

Ephraim joined the mother’s search. Starting at the open graves, he walked

from one grave to the next. The freshly dug holes, ready for the coming

week’s burials, were already numbered, reserved and accounted for. He

knelt

beside each and looked down into the dark depths. All were empty.

The existing graves, too, seemed untouched.

Ephraim felt relieved but mystified as to where this boy Michael was and

what could have happened the night before. He watched as the young man’s

mother followed a trail towards the pine trees on the outskirts of the

cemetery. For a short while she stood under one of the trees, looking
around,

and then ran back to continue her search with renewed urgency. But by
then,
unbeknown to anyone, her mother’s intuition had already begun to prepare

her for the worst.

Back at the station, the police officers, who had since managed to trace the

elusive Thabo, were informed by Naas van Eck that he had received

information from his wife. A piece of clothing apparently belonging to his

son and a lot of blood had been discovered at the Welkom cemetery.

Convinced that they had their suspects and a crime scene, the police

headed to the cemetery to solve the disappearance of Michael van Eck.

Guarding the main entrance to the cemetery, Daniel Ranthimo jumped as a

police vehicle came speeding towards him. The police shoved the

impoverished and confused one-legged man out of the back of the car.

Unsteady on his feet and in quite a state, he had by now begun to apologise

profusely for his lies. The bewildered Thabo followed him.

Thabo felt panicked. Not only had he been implicated in a crime he knew

nothing about, he had also managed to get himself entangled in a serious

domestic crisis. That morning, the police had arrived at his house, where his

wife and children were at home alone. His wife explained that Thabo was
out

of town, visiting his parents in Bultfontein. Angered by this, the police

threatened to arrest her if she did not get hold of Thabo that very minute. In
a
panic, she phoned her husband. With his wife on the verge of being
arrested,

Thabo had to confess: he was not in Bultfontein after all. He was, in fact,

close by, visiting his lover. Thabo vehemently denied the claims that he had

instructed anyone to pick up a vehicle. He did not even own a car.

The police did not believe a word he said. By the time they reached the

Welkom cemetery, they were sick and tired of the two suspects’ lies. It was

time they got answers. They had to hold back from assaulting the two men.

As the first officers on the scene, they cordoned off the area and called for

back-up.

‘Tell us where you murdered him!’ bellowed one of the officers.

‘Where is the body?’ persisted another, while grabbing the thief by the

neck and shoving him towards the bloody T-shirt.

By now, with the heat of the day and adrenalin mounting, the rotten stench

of alcohol and tobacco hit their noses as the sweating man spoke, shaking
his

head vehemently from side to side. Yes, he is a thief. Yes, he wanted to take

the car. But he is not a killer. On his mother’s grave he swore that he did not

know anything about the whereabouts of the vehicle’s owner. He reiterated

that he merely saw the vehicle, keys in the ignition, and opportunistically

took the gap.

‘I lied about Thabo. I’m sorry. All I wanted to do was use the car,’ he

cried.

The police continued interrogating the men about the evidence that had

been discovered.

‘Why is there blood on the car?’ a policeman asked Mr One-Leg.

‘I don’t know, I swear.’

Mr One-Leg confessed that he had been out all night partying and boozing

it up with two prostitutes. By the time he had arrived from the tavern at the

taxi rank early that Sunday morning, there were no taxis running and he
was

too exhausted to walk home. He thought it was a sign from God when he
saw

the deserted car with the keys still in the ignition. He just wanted to give

himself a lift home and then abandon the car again.

The officials began to realise that there might be some truth in what the

two men were telling them. The one-legged man was still very intoxicated;

his friend furious at the accusations.

The policemen knew they had to confront the inconvenient truth.

They had the wrong men.

The search
Warrant Officer Ernst de Ru, from the local criminal-record centre in

Welkom, had been up early and working in the neighbouring town of

Theunissen investigating a house break-in when he was called back to

Welkom to attend a possible crime scene at the cemetery. He looked on as

the

police’s dog unit in Bethlehem was alerted to join the search, as the

policemen on the scene had still found no trace of the missing man.

As a police officer with 23 years’ experience in the SAPS and 13 years as a

police photographer, De Ru remained at the boom gate knowing that

entering

the boundaries of the crime scene could contaminate it further with

footprints

or scent. While he and a number of local police officials waited for the K-9

unit, it was difficult for them to observe the anguish of the distraught Van

Eck family as they waited for news. It was the first time he had met the

family, but he wanted to console them. He walked up to Henriëtte, who was

crying.

‘Don’t expect the worst, not before we’ve found him,’ he tried to soothe

her. She stopped crying only for a moment before she started all over again.

Michael was her only son, he heard.

The Van Ecks were a family De Ru knew only by sight. His children were
much younger than those of the Van Ecks, but as a family man himself, he

had often noticed them in the local shops and restaurants. De Ru watched as

they tried to make sense of this incomprehensible calamity – the uncertainty

unbearable.

Standing at the head of the family, Naas van Eck was the most composed;

a father trying to be strong and take control for the sake of his son and
family

while the horror of what was happening tore at him from the inside.

The mother’s and sisters’ tears would, over the next few hours, give way to

moments of calm as they experienced sporadic spurts of hope while waiting

together for news. It was this hope that Michael would soon be found alive

and well that gave them the strength to carry on.

At 12 p.m., veteran policeman Warrant Officer Fanie du Plessis from the

K-9 unit in Bethlehem put on his blue uniform and sorted his kit before

calling on Xander, a Canadian White Shepherd and his loyal companion of

the past 12 years.

An officer at the scene gave Du Plessis the bare minimum of information.

It was better that way. He was informed that the police had a missing
person:

a 23-year-old white male. They strongly suspected that he may have been at

the Welkom cemetery the night before. They had by then searched every
nook and cranny of the area, and the officers on the scene were convinced

that if Michael was dead, if he was there at all, his body was under the

ground.

Du Plessis had been enjoying a lazy morning about the house, spending the

day with his wife and daughter, when he got the call to come out.

He learnt that his K-9 colleague in Welkom was unavailable. Although

officials would regularly stand in for one another if the situation called for
it,

Du Plessis did not bargain on having to go as far as Welkom, a place he

rarely visited socially or for work.

Du Plessis was not told what Michael’s supervisor, Barno Kruger, had

shared with the team on the scene – the single important clue that had led
the

family to the unlikely location of the Welkom cemetery.

Kruger, a grey-haired man with a moustache and glasses, had spoken

briefly to Michael shortly before he knocked off his shift on Saturday 2

April,

the day before. It was to be his last conversation with his young, ambitious

employee. Michael told him about a girl he had met on a mobile internet

social-networking chat site, 2Go. Michael seemed uneasy. He mentioned

how
the girl had pressured him into agreeing to meet her in the Welkom

graveyard. He had not told Kruger the name of the girl, but had mentioned

that he was considering having a romantic date with her.

Kruger, himself a father, had warned Michael not to go. Such a location

would not be acceptable to most people, and Michael agreed that the

cemetery was indeed a bad idea. Kruger left it at that and they soon parted

ways. It would be the last time he saw the enthusiastic worker he had got to

know over the last three months.

Du Plessis had begun working with Xander as a homeless pup. When a

married couple from Knysna in the Western Cape went through a bitter

divorce, neither of them could accommodate their son’s dog. The day the
boy

had to bid farewell to his beloved dog, having to deal with yet another

immense loss, would prove to be the day the SAPS gained a very valuable

asset. At 18 months old, Xander was the perfect age to train as a search-
and-

rescue dog. With his playful, inexhaustible nature, he also had the ideal

temperament. Although smaller, equally enthusiastic dogs, such as Jack

Russells, could undergo the same police training, with their short legs they
do

not have the stamina to cover vast areas over several hours during official
search-and-rescue operations. Xander did this effortlessly.

Over the years Xander and his master had dealt with hundreds of crime

scenes – collapsed buildings, missing persons and drownings – a fact

attested

to by Du Plessis’s leathery skin, which had become accustomed to hours

outside in the harsh Free State sun.

One of the first, and worst, scenes Xander and Du Plessis ever attended

was the Saulspoort bus tragedy in 2003, where 51 people drowned when the

bus broke through the cold, murky water of the Saulspoort Dam situated
just

outside Bethlehem. (The dam has since been renamed the Sol Plaatje Dam

after apartheid struggle hero Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje.) The victims were

all members of the South African Municipal Workers Union, and were

travelling from Kimberley in the Northern Cape to an event in QwaQwa, in

the eastern Free State.

Xander and Du Plessis worked from a boat over a period of days to search

for drowned victims. Even in water, as the human body decomposes,

orifices

release gases that cannot be detected by humans. Search-and-rescue dogs,

whose sharp sense of smell is conditioned to these scents, can direct the

handler to the body even if it is in a shallow grave underwater or

underground.

It took Xander and Du Plessis approximately two hours to reach Welkom.

While the team filled Du Plessis in on the situation and acquainted him with

the scene, he gave Xander time to sniff around.

The team of police officials was restless and on edge when Du Plessis

arrived. Although it had been a pleasant day, the weather had begun to turn,

and the threat of rain loomed as the clear sky turned cloudy.

Although he could feel the pressure, Du Plessis was not concerned. He

needed to give Xander time to settle in, but he did not want him to cross the

boundaries and relieve himself, thus contaminating the crime scene.

Xander,

in turn, was excited and happy to be out of his cage in the vehicle and in the

fresh air with a whole bunch of new scents to explore.

Du Plessis took a moment to familiarise himself with his surroundings. He

observed the large pool of blood, the colour of which had now turned
brown,

the drag marks, and the splatters and smears of the bloody struggle that
might

reveal what had taken place the night before. He was told that the blue rag,

which had since dried, allegedly belonged to the missing man.

When required to search for a living individual, Du Plessis would utilise a

piece of clothing that bore the scent of the missing person. He would hold it

to Xander’s nose and simply instruct him: Soek! (Search!) Xander would
then

drop his snout to the ground and begin the chase. The dog rarely missed his

target. When Du Plessis suspected the victim was dead, he would omit
giving

Xander the person’s scent. A simple Kry! (Find!) does the trick. The dog
was,

like Michael, Afrikaans.

In South Africa, where crime is rife and resources limited, police dogs

such as Xander have to be skilled for any search-and-rescue scenario –

unlike

in many first-world countries, where police services can train specialised

cadaver-sniffing or tracking dogs who can differentiate between the dead

and

the living. Under-resourced dog units in South Africa have to train dogs to

develop both these skills, but this search would not be an obstacle for
Xander,

who loved a challenge.

Du Plessis saw the terror in the faces of Michael van Eck’s family and

opted to go about his task determinedly. He had seen the vast amounts of

blood. Looking at the evidence at hand, and with experience gained over
the
last two and a half decades, Du Plessis knew exactly how to instruct his
dog.

He sometimes knew instantly what the outcome would be.

In this case, they were looking for a dead body.

Xander immediately comprehended that playtime was over when his

master put on his harness.

‘Time to get to work, Xander,’ Du Plessis said as he fastened Xander’s

work gear. Wagging his tail, it was obvious that the dog did not think of this

as work.

‘Find!’ Du Plessis prompted. Xander took off with his head in the air,

sniffing the soft, warm wind.

The area was vast. Usually Du Plessis would calculate in his head, dividing

the area into quarters. Looking towards the open area in the south, he began

at a point opposite the Jewish chapel, where more blood and drag marks
had

been discovered. Against the wind, Xander set off towards the outskirts of
the

graveyard. Task-driven now, he picked up speed along the worn double

track

frequented by visitors along the Jewish burial site. Du Plessis kept up, run-

walking after his four-legged hunter with another, younger police officer
trailing a couple of metres behind.

As Xander approached the pine trees, he picked up momentum. He grew

increasingly anxious as he reached the boundary and his handler let Xander

run free.

With purpose, Xander came to an abrupt standstill. He began digging

decisively, his wet nose brushing a small heap of dry grass and soil. Du

Plessis soon heard the distinct, hollow, unsettling sound he had come to
know

so well over his career. Xander had hit target in less than 10 minutes. Du

Plessis knew: the canine’s paws had found the victim’s body.

Du Plessis instructed Xander to stop.

‘That’ll do, boy,’ he said, while rubbing the dog’s furry white head.

He alerted the young police officer who, with a single nod, returned to

inform his colleagues. Soon the forensics team gathered at the shallow
grave,

only covered by grass, leaves and sticks. A number of officers carefully

removed the layers to expose pale white skin and what looked like a pair of

soiled dark-blue jeans with a metal button.

Du Plessis and Xander did not stay to watch as the police uncovered the

shocking discovery. Their work was done. Du Plessis had stopped sticking

around for the sake of his own sanity.

As he neared the end of the cordoned-off area of the crime scene with a

panting Xander, he briefly made eye contact with Michael’s parents.

Like a castaway on an island he isolated himself from the others. Focusing

on Xander, who was now lapping up some water, he sat and waited, hoping

that this would be the end.

It wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

De Ru, camera in hand, accompanied the rest of the forensics team to the

cordoned-off area. Only then did he enter to begin strategically

contextualising the surroundings of the crime scene and documenting each

possible fragment of evidence found at the scene itself.

Using shovels, the police slowly and carefully began to unearth what was

hidden underneath.

Shocking even the most hardened police officer, it was difficult to make

sense of the scene unfolding before them. The dead man’s blood-soaked
blue

jeans had been placed on top of his torso. Cautiously, the officials exposed

the macabre site, the naked, dismembered and decapitated body of a young

adult male gradually emerging with each sweep.

The police had to unpack the grave to take stock of what limbs were

present. The head, entire right arm and hand, and left foot were missing.
Both
legs had been amputated at the knee. Visible pink patches on the victim’s

back confirmed that livor mortis had set in. Of course, the police could not

know for sure whether this headless body belonged to Michael van Eck, and

they hesitated to inform his family of what they had discovered.

De Ru watched as the police put together the parts of the limbs like a

puzzle, as though trying to make sense of it. Lying there as if it were a

discarded partial plastic mannequin tossed under a tree, De Ru

photographed

the decapitated torso of the young white male.

The right foot, which was still present, looked superbly clean, almost

washed, the toenails neatly clipped and dirt-free. De Ru snapped away as an

officer wearing a pair of blue silicone gloves held up the deceased man’s
left

hand, the palm showing deep cuts, defensive wounds indicating a struggle.

Blood had seeped under the neatly cut fingernails and was clearly visible.

De Ru retraced his steps to where the slaughter was probably initiated. He

documented the pools of blood at the entrance, the now-dry drag marks, a

bloody footprint, the ominous smears of blood on the bright-yellow boom

gate, and the crumpled T-shirt. He walked around the Jewish chapel, where

he found more blood. Scrutinising the scene around the chapel, De Ru’s
trained eye looked beyond the more obvious indications of a disturbance
that

Ephraim, Daniel and the others had discovered more than six hours before.

He noticed a number of items that could forensically lead the police to the

killer or killers and which may potentially link the killer to the crime. After

photographing all of the evidence, De Ru dusted the items for fingerprints,

as

one never knew what might ultimately be relevant. The items included a

small, empty condom package, a drinking glass with an elegant black, floral

print, used tissues and a couple of empty glassbeer bottles.

The police decided that it would be too traumatic for the family to see the

shallow grave. They had to find the missing head first and make sure that

they had the ‘right’ body. But what if the head and missing limbs were not
in

the area? There had to be another way to establish the identity of the victim.

As the Van Ecks were approached by the police, they could tell that the

officers had discovered something, although they were not forthcoming

with

information.

‘What did you find? Is it Michael?’ Henriëtte asked anxiously. ‘Tell me!’

‘Henriëtte, wait! Officer?’ said Naas van Eck, his eyes begging.
‘We are not sure whether it’s your son, Mr van Eck,’ the official informed

him.

Naas van Eck grew agitated. How were they not sure? They were not

going to keep him away.

‘I’m coming with you,’ he said, and pushed past.

As the clouds gathered and the rain loomed, Van Eck walked with the

police officials to the shallow grave site. Nothing could have prepared him

for what he saw. He looked at the contours of the back, the subtle dark
hairs,

the light skin tone, the feet and fingernails. Naas van Eck did not need a
face

to know.

‘Yes, this is my child,’ he said gravely, and turned his head. His hands, a

hairier version of his son’s, covered his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears

from dripping down his cheeks onto the soil.

Van Eck just managed to compose himself as he walked back to his

family, his wife and daughters waiting anxiously on any news. Naas would

never tell them what he had seen. Taking a stand between his family and the

grave site, his back formed a wall from the truth.

Henriëtte’s eyes pleaded with him to tell her that it wasn’t what they had

feared all these long hours. But instead Naas only gave his wife and
daughters a nod and enfolded them in his arms to let them cry.

As it began to drizzle, the team started packing up to head home to their

families. In the meantime, Du Plessis and Xander continued to search for

the

rest of Michael’s body parts on the site. They found nothing. Du Plessis was

convinced – in fact, he would swear with his hand on the Bible – that they

would not find the rest of Michael’s remains there. If Xander could not pick
it

up, it wasn’t there. He was certain.

Ephraim Morolong went back to his workplace to further secure the

cordoned-off crime scene. The few officers who remained on the scene
filled

him in on what had been discovered. He listened in disbelief as the rain

formed particles like sweat on his forehead. Ephraim was alone when he

locked up the cemetery. He shook his head, thinking about the words he had

heard, words like muti murder, satanism, the occult. Some of the words he

did not understand. He closed and locked the boom gate and left the rain to

wash away the signs of what had happened.

Leading the pack

On that Sunday evening, Colonel Tokkie Jacobs, the group commander of
the

Welkom police, dropped by the house of Detective Warrant Officer Ogies

Nel from the Welkom Detective Unit.

Warrant Officer Hester Hendrina Elizabeth Nel, a detective with over 20

years’ experience, does not look like the hardened police officer that she is.

With her kind brown eyes, the 46-year-old policewoman known as Ogies,
or

Elize, by colleagues, friends and family, looks more like a school-hostel

matron with her cropped hair and short, full body. 1 She is a cat lover, a

mother and a wife, and happiest behind her sewing machine.

Nel became a policewoman by chance. Given the nickname Ogies by her

family, she grew up in Orkney in the North West province in a family of

five

sisters. Her father worked in the mines and her mother in a bank. The
family

moved to Welkom when she was in primary school.

At the height of summer in her matric year, she and some of her girlfriends

were cooling off in the swimming pool when they started chatting about
their

plans for the future. Ogies did not have any plans. One of her friends dared

her to join the SAPS. She took it as a challenge and enrolled at the police
college the very next year. As it happened, this career choice suited her

personality perfectly. She had grown up in a strict home and fit right in. She

flourished within the disciplined boundaries of training as a law

enforcement

officer.

At the end of 1984, Ogies settled in at her first job, at the Welkom police

station’s front complaints desk, taking statements. She soon moved up to

the

human resources department, where she handled her colleagues’ leave

applications. She also dealt with the issuing of firearm licences and took

down accident reports. It gave her great satisfaction dealing with the public.

She soon became frustrated, however, because, as a female police officer,

she wasn’t achieving her goal to be promoted to investigating officer. Her

perseverance and determination eventually paid off when she was promoted

in 1993. She found her new position very interesting, investigating scores of

motor-vehicle accidents and subsequent culpable-homicide cases.

One of these was a drunk driver who collided head-on with a taxi on the

R30 to Theunissen. In the taxi were 11 women and their babies. What she

saw at the accident scene devastated her: seven women and four babies
dead.
As a woman herself, the well-being of women and children was closest to
her

heart.

But Ogies Nel controlled her emotions with discipline and professionalism

and, as her experience grew, she began working on cases of violent crime,

which were especially rife in the townships. Crime became a part of her
daily

life, and solving cases was her passion. She learnt to look at the hard

evidence and her success rate was impeccable. But Welkom, like most of
the

police stations across the country, needed more human and physical

resources.

Welkom is arguably one of the most dangerous places in South Africa. In

2011, the daily newspaper Volksblad cited unemployment, the overall

economic decline, substance abuse, and the influx of illegal immigrants and

miners as reasons for the high crime rate, and contributing to the brutality
of

the violent crimes committed in the Goldfields. 2 The local police had

declared the community under siege by criminals who were attacking the

moral fibre of society while hiding underground like snakes.

The brutality of the murders in the area, across race groups, grieved its
long-term residents. The rape of children, mothers dropping their babies
alive

into pit toilets, family murders, fatal stonings, serial rapists tormenting

communities, and fights among zama-zamas who stabbed each other to

death

over territory and then discarded the bodies in mine shafts, were cited as

regular occurrences. The city itself had, over recent years, declined

significantly, with the once lush and luxurious golf course being submerged

in sewage and the local airport having fallen into a state of disrepair. The

police were criticised for their inability to get a grip on the zama-zamas,
and

their loss of control was blamed for the drastic increase in crime.

But at a time when even the police thought they could no longer be

shocked, the grave murder happened. The crime made no sense, though.
The

body had been left naked and mutilated in the cemetery. The victim’s car
was

found in the CBD, undamaged. There was talk of a date in the cemetery.

Michael apparently had no enemies. It just made no sense.

Colonel Jacobs was anxious. The rain was pouring down when he knocked

on Nel’s door. The search had come to a standstill and they were faced with

one of the most brutal killings he had ever encountered.

Nel listened intently as Jacobs told her of the grisly discovery in the

graveyard, describing in detail the absence of a number of the victim’s body

parts and, moreover, the suspicions that the killing may be related to some

type of satanic ritual or even a muti murder.

‘What do you think, Ogies?’ Jacobs asked her.

Nel switched on the kettle.

‘They wouldn’t have hid the body in a shallow grave if they were not

somewhat sophisticated,’ she said.

As she referred to ‘they’, she confirmed the team’s initial suspicion that the

killer probably did not work alone. Michael was a big guy. Nel was the only

police officer in the Goldfields who at that time had completed a basic

information course on satanist-related crimes.

In an attempt to profile the killer or killers, Jacobs depended on Nel and

her knowledge of the occult and knew that she would share her ideas. She

was already sceptical that this was a muti murder.

A muti murder is defined as the killing of a person to harvest the body

parts for use in African traditional medicine, or muti. The cause of death is

often due to rapid blood loss. The term muti comes from the Zulu word

Umuthi, meaning plant or tree. While most traditional healers or sangomas

(witchdoctors or traditional medicine men and women) speak out against

such practices, there are a few rogue, or so-called ‘secret’, sangomas who,

unbeknown to the community, pervert traditional beliefs.3

There are at least three people involved in a muti murder: the client who

approaches the sangoma to assist with his or her problem or concern, the

sangoma who commissions the killing, and the murderer or murderers who

execute the crime. The victims are most often young and healthy black
males

and can range from infants to adults. They are generally someone known to

the murderer.

While there have been isolated cases of grave robbing and thefts from

mortuaries to obtain body parts from corpses, such crimes can be

considered

the work of less ‘honest’ participants, since in muti murders the body parts

are supposed to be removed while the victim is still alive. Each body part

serves a different purpose or provides different forms of luck. For instance,

when buried, the skull offers protection to one tribe against another, and it is

common to harvest genitals, as they supposedly bring ‘luck’ – virility for

men

and fertility for women.

Although it is difficult to determine the extent of these crimes, they are

fairly widespread, happening between 15 and 300 times every year. 4

Nel’s experience convinced her that it was not a muti killing in this

instance. ‘His private parts were not removed. My feeling is that, if

anything,

the motive was satanic,’ she said cautiously. She needed to learn more
about

the scene.

Nel told Jacobs about some of the telltale signs of satanism she had learnt

about on the course. Although Welkom was reputedly the ‘capital’ of

satanic

activity in the Free State, Nel conceded that even though she had
encountered

it in the field, it was still a very rare occurrence. More of an urban legend.

‘Were there any signs of candle wax?’ she asked Jacobs.

Candles are often used as part of a ritual, Nel explained, adding that the

colour of the wax was particularly significant.

Jacobs shook his head. ‘Nope, I doubt it. Forensics would’ve picked it up.’

‘Carvings or markings on the body?’

‘Negative.’

‘Finding the head will be crucial to rule out any possibilities,’ said Nel.

Jacobs shook his head, dumbfounded by the predicament they were facing.

He took a last gulp of coffee.

Details of the grisly discovery had already been leaked to the media. The

Van Ecks were a well-known family in the Afrikaans community of

Welkom.

How on earth could something like this happen? Who would be capable of

doing such a thing? And why? In this context, the size of Welkom’s

Afrikaans community was more like that of a small town than a city, and
this

was no ordinary murder. For Nel, it was also close to home. Literally. She

lived two blocks from the victim’s family and one of her daughters had

attended the same primary school.

Jacobs could sense the pressure. Volksblad had already picked up on the

story in all its horrific glory and, fuelled by fear of the killer or killers on
the

loose, it was going to spread like wildfire once the rumours were
confirmed.

Jacobs knew the hunt for the killer or killers was on.

‘Thanks, Ogies. Let’s hope for the best tomorrow.’

He left Nel pondering, disturbed. That night she went to bed with a restless

mind. She had already ruled out a muti killing. Without any obvious
evidence

of a possible satanic ritual, she was also not convinced of this as a motive.

And it was not just robbery. Who would murder so brutally and take with
them the dismembered body parts? But moreover, why? Nel spent the night

rolling around, unable to sleep.

The day of the murder

On Monday 4 April, Detective Nel’s commander assigned her to the case as

the investigating officer. After gulping down her second cup of cheap but

strong instant coffee, Nel booked out the docket and set off for the
graveyard

alone. Mr One-Leg had been charged with attempted theft of a motor

vehicle

and was still being questioned by Nel’s colleagues, but he had been ruled
out

as a murder suspect.

On Nel’s arrival at the cemetery, she tracked down Ephraim Morolong and

introduced herself. He filled her in on the events that had transpired.

Nel then retraced Michael’s steps. She passed the yellow boom gate and

briefly paused before the Jewish chapel. Even after the rain, to the trained

eye, the traces of blood were still evident.

From the Jewish chapel she walked the somewhat damp 110 metres

towards the trees where Michael’s mutilated body had been found and came

to a halt at the point where Henriëtte van Eck had paused, not knowing that
the body of her dead son was concealed right there. It was as creepy as hell.

Nel sensed death.

On her return to the station, she found the parents of the victim waiting.

‘Morning, I’m detective Ogies Nel.’

‘Morning, Naas van Eck. My wife, Henriëtte. My daughter, Natasha

Noorman.’

‘Hi,’ Nel said as she shook their hands firmly. She held on to each hand

just a little longer than usual.

‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ she said, her condolences fading into the abyss of

their despair.

Naas van Eck had dark rings under his eyes, and his wife’s eyes were red

and tired-looking.

‘Help us find those who did this to my son!’ Henriëtte said, angry and

distraught, as tears stained her cheeks.

‘I will do my very best,’ Nel assured her.

She sat them down in her office and pulled a pen and paper towards her.

Looking at Henriëtte, Nel asked her when last she had seen her son.

‘He left the house at around 20:30,’ Henriëtte said hoarsely, her voice

weighed down by grief and confusion.

‘Where did he say he was going?’ Nel asked as she meticulously took
notes.

‘He was going to St Helena to pick up a girl. They were going to go see a

movie,’ Henriëtte replied.

‘Did he have any money on him?’

‘Yes. One thousand five hundred rand. It was money from his first pay

cheque.’ Henriëtte’s voice broke. ‘I was with him when he drew it that

afternoon.’

‘Where did he work?’

‘At the mine. Shaft 4. He was an electrician.’

‘What about his friends … I mean, what kind of people are they?’

‘Michael isn’t one to mix with rubbish, if that’s what you mean! His

friends are decent; my son was a decent young man. He did not hang out in

bars and get drunk.’ Henriëtte’s voice rose in anger. ‘His place was with his

family, at home, with us.’ Naas van Eck put his arm protectively around his

wife’s shaking shoulders as she covered her face with both hands, as if
trying

to stop herself from screaming.

Nel went to get some coffee to give Henriëtte time to compose herself.

When she returned, Henriëtte shook her head in disbelief as she recalled her

last hours with her son.

Two days earlier

At midday on Saturday 2 April 2011, Michael van Eck clocked off his

graveyard shift at the mine. 5 He was home earlier than usual. Henriëtte
kissed

him full on the cheek.

‘How was work?’ she asked as he walked towards the kitchen.

‘Good, thanks, Ma. I’m exhausted,’ he replied while opening the fridge.

He grabbed a bite to eat and went off to his room.

Michael collapsed on his bed. He felt anxious but took a nap anyway. He

was dead-tired. The last couple of months of brutal shifts had taken their
toll.

Later he came wandering into the lounge and sat down quietly. Henriëtte

could sense her son was not his usual talkative self. He was distant. She
could

not stand how reclusive Michael had become over the last six months, ever

since he broke up with his girlfriend in August 2010.

‘Isn’t it time you gave Gisela another chance?’ she’d once coaxed him.

The tall, slim, blonde Gisela had been Michael’s first love and first long-

term girlfriend, but after just over a year together, they had called it quits.

That was six months ago. The couple had ended their relationship after yet

another bitter bickering session in Michael’s bedroom. The break-up was

mutual.

Although Gisela had loved Michael dearly and she had become like the

Van Ecks’ own child, she felt she and Michael did not want the same things

from the relationship. There were a few profound differences. They were

constantly arguing over family matters. Gisela also did not want to pursue a

sexual relationship.

‘Are you nuts, Mom! I’ll never get back together with her. Never,’ Michael

had said defiantly.

And he meant it, all the while sinking deeper into his depression.

‘Well, you have to go out and live your life,’ Henriëtte had said

encouragingly.

Michael’s sisters blamed Gisela for his depression. But after qualifying as

an electrician, Michael’s desire to become financially independent from his

parents had taken a greater toll. He had become increasingly concerned and

depressed as he struggled to secure a permanent job.

While 1994 had marked the end of apartheid, it had not made it any easier

for young white males to find employment. Times were difficult for

everyone, even when they were equipped with a tertiary education. This is

still the economic reality of life for the youth in post-apartheid South
Africa.
Although Henriëtte knew of her son’s anxiety, things had been looking up

over the past three months. After completing his internship, the Beatrix
mine

was impressed enough to offer Michael a full-time position. He had already

earned his very first pay cheque. Henriëtte had observed a slight

improvement in her son’s mood. Some days it seemed as if he were really

getting back his zest for life. But he was, more than ever, driven to build his

career and, ultimately, fulfil his lifelong goal of qualifying as an electronics

engineer. Michael and his sister Natasha, a chartered accountant, had been
the

most studious of the five Van Eck siblings and, for them, academics was a

common interest.

Later that Saturday afternoon, Henriëtte and Michael left to fetch a trailer

from Natasha and her husband, Ronald’s, home in Virginia, a smaller town

near Welkom. Michael helped his brother-in-law to hook up the trailer. He

was always ready to help but, still, a concerned Natasha approached her

mother. Natasha had also noticed Michael’s mood; he seemed to possess a

hint of melancholy, which only his closest family could detect.

‘What’s going on with Mike today? He’s not talking. He seems distant,’

Natasha said to her mother in hushed tones.

‘Ag, he’s probably a bit peeved with your dad. He is tired from work and
now your dad wants to do some stuff at home later. He wants Mike to help

him remove the felled logs,’ Henriëtte explained.

Henriëtte looked at Michael. He rarely minded helping his dad. She felt

uneasy, but left it there. Now she would always wish she hadn’t.

Growing up in the Goldfields in the modest mining community, Michael

was the proverbial golden boy. As the only son in a family of four sisters,
his

life had been sheltered but free. He lived for his family – Michael was

unquestionably the heart of the Van Eck home.

As a child, the young Mikey or Mick, as he was fondly known, always

sported a bright white smile, with even brighter dark-brown eyes.

Photographs speak of the close relationship he had with each member of his

family. To his three older sisters, Natasha, Michelle and Bianka, he was the

baby brother, and to the younger, Hendriena, he was a best friend; their

happy-go-lucky, loyal and helpful Mikey.

Although his father, Naas, had not been home much due to work

commitments, he was Michael’s role model. Naas did everything to provide

for his family and had a special bond with his only son.

Naas had been an only child who grew up in the care of his great-

grandmother. By the time their second daughter, Michelle, arrived,

Henriëtte
had become more determined than ever to give her husband a son. Three

years before Michael, Henriëtte fell pregnant with a boy. She lost him when

she was six months pregnant and was absolutely devastated. Then came
their

third daughter, Bianka. Still Henriëtte refused to give up on her desire to

have

a son. One year and three months later, their dream was finally fulfilled.

Both Michael’s parents had been exceptionally proud of him and had

happily paid the thousands of rands in tuition to help him attain the goals
for

which he was willing to work so hard.

After matriculating at Welkom High School, Michael went on to pursue

his studies at the Tosa Technical College and completed all his certificates
in

industrial electronics and electrical engineering and sciences to qualify as

an

electrician. He managed to secure a job at the Beatrix Gold Mine’s Shaft 4

and decided to register to ultimately qualify as an electronics engineer. Due

to his many years of studying, he earned an above-average income of R17

800 per month.

As a stay-at-home mom, Henriëtte had an exceptionally close bond with

her son. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for Michael. No favour he
asked

was ever too big or too much trouble. It was she who would kiss his scrapes

better when he fell down and later, when he had his first heartbreak, hers

would be the shoulder he cried on. He was her long-awaited son.

As Michael’s sisters left home and got married and his father worked

increasingly long hours, he became Henriëtte’s right-hand man and greatest

confidant. Mom and son confided in one another in both good and bad
times.

Michael shared his deepest fears and joys with her. He drove her
everywhere

and they did everything together. Michael was the one who took his mother

grocery shopping or to the doctor. When one of his sisters had marital

problems, he would take his mother to go and help sort things out or
console.

Michael was always ready to help his family.

He had been very fit and achieved a Second Dan, also known as a black

belt, in karate. Michael told his mother that this made him feel more secure

and empowered. Henriëtte kept all her children’s awards and certificates.

The year before Michael’s murder, Henriëtte had lost her beloved brother

Gordon, who died a horrific death when he got gangrene in his face. The
disease spread until he eventually succumbed to it. He, too, had been the
only

son in a family of four sisters.

On the night of Michael’s disappearance, he had dinner with his parents. He

wasn’t too chatty, but did mention, almost as an afterthought, that he was

planning on meeting a girl for movies and maybe a milkshake.

Michael did not drink or smoke. He also did not like hanging out in pubs

or clubs. While most young men of his age like to go out and mingle and
live

it up till the early hours of the morning, Michael preferred to stay at home

with his family.

Henriëtte decided not to pry too much. She was pleased that Michael had

plans to go out and meet new people. He said he was going to pick the girl
up

from her home in the neighbourhood of St Helena. Again, Henriëtte left it at

that.

Forevermore, she would wish that she hadn’t.

In his bedroom, Michael styled his hair to perfection and dressed in jeans

and a grey-blue T-shirt with a modern, hip design that Henriëtte had
recently

bought for him. Shortly before 9 p.m., he was ready to leave. Henriëtte
walked her son outside to his car, offering to close the gate.

‘Be safe,’ she said.

He smiled and kissed his mom goodnight.

‘See you later, Ma,’ he said.

Henriëtte thought it odd when Michael’s car turned left towards the main

road instead of right, the way they’d usually drive towards St Helena. But
she

thought he was just taking a different route. Not giving it another thought,
she

went back inside.

Shortly before arriving at the police station that morning for their meeting

with Nel, Naas van Eck had stormed into Volksblad’s satellite office in

Welkom. Chasing reporter Tom de Wet around his desk, Naas had
demanded

to know where De Wet had got his information from. This was information

he had not even revealed to his wife and daughters. They had had to read in

the paper that their son and brother had been cut up.

Van Eck was so upset, he punched De Wet in the chest, hard. De Wet did

not retaliate, nor would he lay a charge of assault against the grieving
father.

While Nel was questioning the family, the Van Ecks told her that they
were convinced Michael had picked up the girl at her home and had been

accosted in the CBD, where his car was found. But his car was clear of

fingerprints. Apart from the blood by the front door handles, there was no

blood inside the car. Nel was dumbfounded by the lack of clues. And if

Michael was accosted in the CBD, how did he end up being killed in the

cemetery?

After the Van Ecks left her office, Nel submitted an urgent request to

Michael’s service provider for access to his cellphone records. It would take

time to obtain the records, however. In the meanwhile, she felt that divine

intervention was needed in her investigation.

That night, Nel made her last duty stop at the home of Barno Kruger,

Michael’s supervisor, who had provided the crucial information about his

possible whereabouts. He could not offer Nel much more in the way of
leads.

Michael had only ever mentioned his date at the cemetery to Kruger once,

late on the Saturday morning before clocking off.

‘Of course I advised him against such an outrageous idea,’ Kruger told

Nel. He remembered that Michael, too, had been suspicious of going there.

But why did he follow through with it then? Nel asked herself. That is, if he

went voluntarily …
Nel got home shortly before 9 p.m. and went through the docket one more

time. What was she missing? At face value, anything seemed possible.

Along came a little girl

Despite a bad night’s sleep, Detective Nel got up on the Tuesday morning

with renewed vigour. She washed her face and prepared to take on the new

day.

The office was buzzing. Pressure was mounting as the details of Michael

van Eck’s murder were made public. As the handsome, youthful, smiling
face

of Michael stared from the front page of Volksblad, the murder mystery was

not only sending shockwaves throughout the Free State, but the rest of the

country as well. Within hours, thousands of people across South Africa

were

learning by the hour of the horrific discovery in the Welkom cemetery

either

via traditional or social media.

Naas and Henriëtte van Eck refused to speak to the press. Reporter Marisa

Philips, De Wet’s colleague at Volksblad, however, managed to get hold of

Natasha’s cell number and called her. Natasha told Philips what everyone
who knew Michael was saying: There was no way he would have met
anyone

in a cemetery. It just did not fit his character. On social networks, both
people

who knew Michael and complete strangers debated how anyone could be so

irresponsible to meet someone they did not know at such an unsafe and

dodgy, never mind creepy, location. ‘I knew Michael, and he was no

pushover,’ one of his acquaintances commented online. 6

With people fixated on what had transpired in Welkom, the local police

had in the meantime extended their search for Michael’s missing head and

limbs and, moreover, for those responsible for his murder. Nel knew all
eyes

were now on her and the Welkom police to solve the murder, and she was

determined to get the job done.

Colonel Jacobs requested the renowned former police colonel turned

missing-body hunter, Danie Krügel from Bloemfontein, to assist in the

high-

profile investigation.

Dubbed ‘The Locator’ by the international media, Krügel’s notorious

locating machine, the so-called Krügel Theory Tester (KTT), has earned
him

both local and international acclaim, as well as criticism. Known for his
inexhaustible zeal in tracing missing persons, he is most famous for his

involvement in high-profile cases such as that of British toddler Madeleine

McCann, who disappeared in Portugal, the six girls abducted by South

Africa’s most notorious paedophile, Gert van Rooyen, and the kidnapped

student Leigh Matthews.

Although most people in the crime-investigation industry regard Krügel’s

KTT machine, which works with ‘quantum vibrations’, as a farce, Krügel

insists that its efficacy has been scientifically proven and he has a great

support base.

Krügel, a tall, dark-blond, hefty man with an even heftier moustache,

agreed to Jacobs’ request on one condition: his former colleague, the

spirited

and hard-working Warrant Officer Eben van Zyl from the Organised Crime

Unit (OCU) in Bloemfontein, had to accompany him. Krügel did not want
to

waste time and, in this instance, had to concede that the time-consuming

process his human-operated, DNA-locating machine required may not be

enough to ensure success.

That same morning, Krügel, Van Zyl and Van Zyl’s colleague and life

partner, Warrant Officer Lynda Steyn, an attractive blonde with blue-green

eyes, also from the OCU, dropped everything to jump head first into the
murky case.

Nel was happy with any assistance offered if it would speed up the

investigation. She, Van Zyl and Steyn agreed to work together as a team and

discuss new leads and share ideas as they occurred. But Krügel, accustomed

to his own way of doing things, told Nel that all he wanted was ‘silence and

isolation’. Nel did not quite know what to make of this. Slightly annoyed
but

trying to be tolerant, she decided to just let Krügel be, at least for now. She

accepted that although they were all working towards a common goal, it did

not necessarily mean they would all get on like a house on fire.

That morning, Nel was given Michael’s cellphone records. She told Van

Zyl and Steyn that the last number Michael had punched in may hold the
key.

His cellphone had been off since his disappearance, but Nel found it

promising that, according to the records, it had never left Welkom and its

surrounds. If that was the case, perhaps the last person whose number he
had

dialled was also still nearby.

Van Zyl jotted down the last number Michael had phoned and punched in

the digits. As expected, this phone was also off. The three investigators

decided to split up and continue their search separately, while staying in

touch. Nel returned to the station where she tirelessly continued to take

statements and search for information, while Van Zyl and Steyn drove
around

with Krügel.

Krügel, Van Zyl and Steyn first went by the mortuary to view the body.

Now washed clean, the dismembered figure, with bones protruding from
the

stumps of its missing limbs, looked cold and clinical on the stainless-steel

slab. Eben van Zyl stared at the beheaded, mutilated body. It was a chilling

sight. They learnt that the pathologist, Dr Wilhelm van Heusden, happened
to

be a family friend of the Van Ecks. In fact, he had been the family’s GP all
of

Michael’s life and had just recently enjoyed a braai at the Van Eck home.
But

now here lay what was left of Michael. In Van Heusden’s career, he had

carried out over 10 000 post-mortems, but seeing Michael, whom he had

delivered as a baby, like this, was devastating.

Van Zyl thought the circumstances around the young man’s death

extremely odd. Not long before, he had been involved in investigating a

gruesome murder in Bloemfontein. On that crime scene, in a local

township,
the police had found a body that was missing its head, heart and genitals.
Van

Zyl and a fellow police officer caught the perpetrators of this muti murder

red-handed, literally still holding the tog bag that contained the
dismembered

body parts while they were on their way to a sangoma. The motive here had

been immediately obvious: the perpetrators were members of the 666 gang.

Gangs originating in prisons have, over more than two decades, extended

their tentacles across towns and cities all over the Free State. While some
see

the 666s as the main gang, other minor gangs include the B2Ks (Born to

Kill), the Illuminate, Dogs of Corruption, 7Slash, Izinyoka (Snakes) and the

International Junior Portuguese (IJP). Their names are often inspired by

Hollywood Mafia films, and these gangs commit crimes and occasionally

dabble in the occult.

Youths join these gangs not necessarily because they are interested in

practising the occult but as a way of belonging to and being integrated into
a

group, and generally perpetrate serious crimes such as rape, murder and

robbery. They come from the informal settlements and townships of the
Free

State and neighbouring Northern Cape, as well as Lesotho, an independent

country on the border of the eastern Free State. Some experts even allege
that

Lesotho is the birthplace of these gangs.

Van Zyl did not know whether Michael had fallen prey to one of these

gangs, but, like his colleagues, he was willing to do everything he could to

help solve the crime.

In the mortuary, body hairs were cut from Michael’s arm and handed to

Krügel. The DNA and the machine’s ‘quantum vibrations’ would hopefully

work in sync to direct Krügel to the rest of the victim.

Van Zyl had known Krügel since the 1980s, when they were both assigned

to the public order police (pop) unit, also formerly known as the riot unit,

which was called out to control riots or protests against the apartheid

government. He had come to know Krügel as a committed Christian who

had, in those days, hunted down satanists. Van Zyl had great respect for

Krügel, and for his machine, too.

Over the years, Krügel’s machine has attracted much local and

international media attention, and its failure to yield any definitive results
has

been used to label Krügel an attention-seeking fraud.

In one high-profile case, Krügel’s locator did, however, prove successful.

It involved the so-called Pakistani mafia, when four Pakistani members of
the

Lajpal gang were slain by a rival gang in a revenge killing in the eastern
Free

State town of Clocolan, some 157 kilometres south-east of Welkom.7

Krügel

had identified the possible grave site of the missing gang members in 2007.

The police searched the area, but found nothing. However, a year later, the

police arrested members of the rival Basra gang after the body of a fifth

missing Pakistani gang member was discovered on a smallholding outside

Bloemfontein.

The arrested Basra members pointed the police to a mass grave where the

bodies of the four missing Lajpal gang members were buried – at the very

site Krügel had identified using his equipment in 2007.

Now, Krügel focused his machine on the area of Lakeview, where Michael

had grown up in a modest mining house, the neighbourhood of St Helena,

and the Unicorn Club, which consisted of plots of land, dams and sports

grounds.

The results impelled Krügel to call Nel. On her arrival at the Lakeview

pan, Krügel insisted that Nel order police divers to search the sewage farm.

The stench was unbearable. It was here that Nel, as the officer in charge, put
her foot down. She would not let her colleagues go through such an ordeal
if

it wasn’t absolutely necessary.

Nel’s negative response ended Krügel’s involvement in the search.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, the team studied the cellphone statements

again. This time, Steyn offered to call the last number displayed on
Michael’s

phone, as if a different caller, much like a different gambler taking over an

unlucky slot machine, could twist fate to their advantage.

‘Let’s hold thumbs,’ said Van Zyl.

‘Here goes,’ Steyn said as she punched in the number. It rang. She could

not hide her elation as she mouthed and signalled the good news with a

thumb’s up. On the spur of the moment, Steyn decided to pull an old trick
she

and Van Zyl had learnt from their good friend, the respected private

investigator Leon Rossouw, from Bloemfontein. It was a trick that had

worked time and again to lure possible suspects to the police.

‘Hello?’ said the sweet-sounding voice of a young girl.

‘Hi, I am so sorry to disturb you. This is Dr Mitchell from Casualty at the

Welkom Mediclinic,’ Steyn said, making up an identity.

‘Yes?’ the young woman responded.

‘We have a girl here who has just been in a very bad motor-vehicle

accident,’ Steyn said, while putting on her most authentic doctor’s voice.

‘We’re going to have to operate immediately, but before we can go ahead

we

need someone to identify her. Your number was one of the numbers found
on

the cellphone brought in with her. Can you help us?’

Steyn could hear her heart beating as silence fell between them.

She waited.

‘I’m at Game, but we can come over shortly,’ the girl said.

‘Great, sorry, I didn’t get your name?’ Steyn asked cautiously.

‘Chané.’

‘Okay, thank you, Chané. See you soon,’ Steyn said, and put down the

phone.

Nel realised that the Game store was just across the road from the hospital

and that they were still several kilometres away, where they had been

searching the area around the dam. She and her colleagues had all heard it

over the speakerphone: the girl had said ‘we’.

They dropped everything and immediately made their way to the hospital.

Steyn, Van Zyl and Krügel passed St Helena again as they sped in the

direction of the Welkom Mediclinic, fearing that the girl, the last person
Michael had contacted on his cellphone, would beat them to it and find out

that she had been lied to.

Relief flushed over them when they got to the hospital’s casualties area

and could not spot anyone who would match the young voice on the

cellphone.

‘Good afternoon, Janet,’ Van Zyl said upon reaching the reception desk,

peering at the shiny badge on the hospital official’s uniform. Van Zyl
showed

the woman his ID card.

‘I’m Detective Eben van Zyl from the SAPS,’ he said. ‘We are conducting

an investigation. If anyone inquires about identifying a victim of a motor-

vehicle accident or asks for “Dr Mitchell”, I would appreciate it if you

could

direct them straight to me and my colleagues. We will be around.’

Van Zyl, Steyn and Krügel waited at casualty, while Nel went off to stand

guard at the main entrance. Nel carefully studied new visitors from top to
toe,

viewing each as a potential suspect as they walked into the hospital through

the sliding doors. It was starting to get late.

Five minutes felt like an eternity.

Twenty minutes after she’d arrived with her team, Nel saw them
approaching the main entrance.

Coming through the glass sliding doors was a couple. The petite,

dishevelled girl was wearing an oversized red hoody and black sweatpants.

She looked like a teenager. Her long black hair was pulled back into a bun,

and her black fingernails offset against her fair skin made her look so pale,

she seemed almost translucent.

Beside her walked a twentysomething, tallish, average-looking bloke. The

couple’s hands were tightly entwined as they strolled into the entrance hall
at

a slow, steady pace, as if they had all the time in the world. Nel observed
that

they did not stop at the admissions desk or turn towards the wards, but

walked straight to the casualty ward. To Nel, this was a sign that this could
be

the girl who had answered Michael’s last cellphone call. She turned and

followed the couple.

Nel joined up with Steyn and Van Zyl and quietly pointed out the couple to

them. The three of them watched intently as the young couple approached
the

reception desk in the casualty ward. While she was talking to a uniformed

hospital official, the girl turned her head and made eye contact with the
police
officers for the first time.

Could this unobtrusive-looking couple be responsible for Michael van

Eck’s murder?

No. Maybe. It can’t be, thought Nel.

But she knew.

The receptionist looked up at Van Zyl who, along with Nel and Steyn, had

begun moving closer to the couple.

‘Hi, are you Chané?’ Nel asked the girl.

‘Yes,’ replied the girl, her voice revealing nothing.

‘I’m Detective Ogies Nel, and these are Detectives Eben van Zyl, Lynda

Steyn and Danie Krügel.’

‘I know why you are here,’ the girl said calmly. ‘I’ll show you everything.

I just need to talk to my fiancé first.’

‘I’m afraid you can’t talk to one another right now,’ Van Zyl said firmly.

Nel explained that they were investigating the murder of Michael van Eck

and asked the couple to formally identify themselves.

The girl, with her soft, doe-like eyes, seemed oddly composed.

‘I’m Chané van Heerden. This is my fiancé, Maartens van der Merwe,’ she

said quietly. Maartens nodded without saying a word. He seemed very

casual
about what was transpiring.

‘Do you know Michael van Eck?’ Nel asked the girl. ‘We have evidence

that you were the last person he spoke to.’

Chané was non-committal, but agreed to take the police to the flat she

shared with Maartens in Unicor Street, St Helena.

With Chané and her fiancé separated from each other in two different

vehicles, the detectives headed for the couple’s rental flat.

They parked in the shady street, less than five kilometres from the Van

Ecks’ Bedelia home. St Helena was noticeably more tatty than Bedelia,

consisting of modest working-class mining homes. Once, Welkom had been

a

fast-developing mining town. St Helena was built on the very farm where
the

town, today the second largest city in the Free State, had originated after
gold

was discovered. Six years after the first mining lease in the area was
awarded

to the St Helena Gold Mining Company, Welkom became a self-proclaimed

town in 1948.8

The investigators knew they had struck gold in unravelling the case, but

had no idea what would happen next. Nel and Steyn followed closely
behind
Chané, who pushed open a security gate. Maartens, who had hardly said a

word, waited outside with Van Zyl and Krügel. He seemed entirely relaxed.

At the flat’s entrance, Chané unlocked another steel gate, which led into

their semi-detached garden flat, situated to the right of a larger house. On

the

windows were white burglar bars.

Once inside the flat, Nel carefully observed her surroundings. It looked

like the messy living space of a rebellious teenager. At first glance, there
did

not seem anything disconcerting about the living room’s contents. There
were

a beige couch and a single bed, whose baby-blue matress was covered only

with a tucked-in winter blanket. Ashtrays overflowing with cigarette butts

and two red cigarette lighters were on the armrest of the couch, while
several

items of clothing, including a pair of stonewashed blue jeans, and a yellow

laundry basket filled to the brim were on the bed.

Against the wall was a small table with a desktop computer and a cabinet

housing an old box TV set. On the floor was a small, unplugged heater, a
pair

of black-and-white lace-up long-top sneakers, a book by Stephen King, a

black backpack decorated with white skulls with items of clothing pouring
out of it, as well as a hardcover notebook, cherry LipIce and a pen.

Nel took a moment to examine the paintings that took up much of the wall

space. The images resembled Chané quite strikingly: a series of large, alien-

like self-portraits, the faces all in shades of bright, screaming yellow, tinted

with luminous green and black shadows, the teeth rotten and X-ray-like, the

eyes dark wells of sadness.

In the small kitchen, Nel stood by as Chané voluntarily walked to the

white, medium-sized fridge. On the table top next to it were some half-full

bottles of liquor: Red Square and some peach schnapps. Stuck to a magnet
on

the fridge was a sheet of paper that read:

Angels with needles poke through our eyes and let the ugly light of the
world in and

we were no longer blind. 9

Below it was another piece of paper, also handwritten in ink, of quantum-

physics calculations and formulas.

Chané casually opened the door to the smaller freezer compartment at the

top of the fridge. A pack of Country Crop mixed vegetables was on the top

shelf. On the middle shelf were three polysterene containers with minced

meat covered in cling wrap.

Nel and Steyn watched as Chané carefully reached inside and removed a
flattened white plastic grocery bag, squeezed in between a small packet of

frozen garden peas and a packet of sweetcorn, from the bottom shelf.

With great care, she put the plastic bag on the kitchen counter and removed

the contents, revealing what looked like a flat pizza base. Nel did not even

wince as she looked at what was, in fact, a macabre mask of Michael van

Eck’s face.

Where the eyes once were, there were now only holes, absurdly framed by

the young man’s dense, dark-brown eyebrows. His nose was still perfectly

intact, and his cheeks still bore a slight, rough stubble. The mouth was sewn

shut. A cut ran from the right corner of his mouth and another from the left,

not more than three to four centimetres respectively. These cuts had also
been

stitched closed. ‘His face,’ Chané said, as if she were talking about a bag of

tomatoes or an arbitrary grocery item. This was her trophy, Nel thought.
She

was showing off her work of art.

‘His eyes and ears,’ she continued, while removing small plastic medicine

canisters from the fridge. Two white floating jellies in salt water were all
that

remained of his eyes. In another canister were Michael’s ears, cut off with

surgical precision and preserved for who knows what.

‘You are sick,’ was all Nel could get out.

Steyn felt as if she was being pushed out of the room. She sensed a dark

force she did not understand. Void of emotion, Nel took out the metal

handcuffs. ‘You are under arrest for the murder of Michael van Eck.’

She read Chané her rights. They arrested Maartens, too. The couple stood

waiting as Steyn called Chané’s father.

Van Zyl and Krügel then entered the flat. Van Zyl felt as if he was being

smothered, as if the devil itself had wrapped its tail around his neck. He saw

the mask. Chané’s eyes followed him from every corner of the flat.

Nel felt oddly calm as she asked Chané where Michael’s possessions were.

Chané pointed to a jar on top of the fridge, next to a nasal spray. In it were

some hundred-rand notes and some silver and copper coins. It was the
money

Michael had had in his wallet; the money he had drawn from his first pay

cheque to pay his parents back for the car they had helped him buy; the

money Henriëtte had said he must keep and use for petrol and pocket
money;

the money he was supposedly going to use to take a girl to the movies on
the

night of his death.

‘We used some of it already,’ the girl shrugged.

Stuck to the jar, handwritten in black Koki pen, engulfed in hand-drawn

red flames, was a label that read: ‘The spawn of our prostitution.’

Maartens mentioned that they planned to use some of this money to buy

some spades for ‘the next time’. ‘It’s not easy to dig a hole with a soup

spoon, you know,’ he said matter-of-factly.

For a while no one said a word.

Ernst de Ru could hear the excitement and relief in Nel’s voice.

‘We got them, Ertjies. We got them,’ she said over the phone.

De Ru told Nel he was actually about to go and have a shower.

‘Forget it. Get yourself here,’ she said.

De Ru smiled as she spoke; he was very happy for her. He followed the

media. The shocking murder in the graveyard was all that people talked

about, whether he was in line at the supermarket, in the dentist’s waiting

room or picking up his children from school. The public were petrified of
the

killer or killers that were on the loose. He knew what pressure and stress
Nel

must have been under conducting such a high-profile investigation. He

gathered his camera gear and headed for Unicor Street.

De Ru could not believe his eyes when he first saw the suspects.

Chané van Heerden was sitting on the living-room couch, relaxed, as if she
was waiting for somebody to put on a DVD. She looked like the proverbial

girl next door.

‘Hi, there,’ De Ru greeted her.

‘Hello, Oom,’ she responded.

De Ru was taken aback by her politeness. In Afrikaans, ‘oom’ and ‘tannie’

are terms of respect, the way a polite youth would address his or her male
and

female elders. In recent times it has increasingly become the norm for

Afrikaans youngsters to totally discard this form of address, merely greeting

older folk by their first names or just not addressing them at all. This was

what De Ru had been expecting in this case.

Nel pointed De Ru to some of the key findings before she let him get on

with his job.

Cautiously, he started photographing each detail, the first of which was

Michael’s face, or the mask that it now was. It had been laid flat first on the

level surface of the kitchen counter and later on the tiled floor to make it

easier to photograph. The victim’s mouth had been stitched closed by

needle

and thread. De Ru was horrified. He noticed the missing eyelids, refusing

the

young man the relief of ever again closing his eyes. De Ru wondered where
the lids were.

He also took notice of the weird wall paintings and photographed them as

well. He could not quite put his finger on it, but apart from the presence of

the victim’s remains, there was something deeply disturbing about the flat.

Where were these young people’s parents? he wondered. All he knew was

that if this was his son or daughter’s place, he’d have been very worried.

In the background, De Ru could hear the police officers bustling around

Chané, peppering her with questions. ‘I’m only going to speak to Detective

Nel,’ she said, ‘and I’m also going to say something just once – I’m not
here

for your entertainment.’

Beside the sink in the kitchen was a drying rack with two tall, decorated

tumblers and two other clear drinking glasses. These were stacked next to a

coffee mug, some cutlery, including one small and one large kitchen knife,

and two crystal wine glasses. De Ru recognised the two tumblers. The
design

on the glasses – tendrils of little black flowers – was similar, if not identical,

to the drinking glass that had been left behind, and which he had

photographed, at the crime scene in the graveyard.

‘I am very disappointed in the police,’ he suddenly heard a voice say

behind him.
He turned his head. It was Maartens, now nonchalantly leaning against the

kitchen wall, watching him intently.

‘Why is that?’ De Ru asked.

‘Well, I’m under arrest aren’t I? Isn’t somebody supposed to be guarding

me? I could be tampering with crucial forensic evidence.’

De Ru tried to conceal his amazement.

‘Yes, you are under arrest. We are guarding you. You aren’t tampering, are

you? No? Precisely,’ said De Ru sternly before getting on with his work.

A number of novels by Stephen King lined the book shelves, The Shining,

Insomnia, Skeleton Crew, Cell and Firestarter among them. Either Chané or

Maartens, or both, were great fans of the king of horror, science fiction and

fantasy.

De Ru also photographed the black backpack with white skeleton prints.

From it he carefully retrieved a little white dress with blood spatter and

smears across the chest and neckline. He laid it out on the floor to
photograph

before handing it to a colleague to bag.

Inside an untidy cupboard among unfolded clothes and also scattered about

the room were occult-inspired and ritual paraphernalia: voodoo dolls, a

Ouija
board and a white, porcelain-like mask with pretend-cracks painted on it.
On

one of the shelves in the cupboard were Michael’s Billabong wallet and
gold-

framed glasses. De Ru photographed all the items.

He then lifted the lid off a rectangular plastic ice-cream container and

photographed a floating object in the chalky white water. On closer

inspection he identified it as the flayed skull of a cat. He spontaneously

pulled a face, as if he’d just eaten something sour. He finished off by

photographing the well-used candles. One of the candle holders was in the

shape of a skull, the white wax now dry after having rolled down into the

cavities of the skull’s cheeks.

De Ru turned to a number of black hardcover notebooks Nel had pointed

out to him earlier. In one of the books De Ru found the front page of the

Volksblad edition that had broken the horrific news of the graveyard slaying

the day before. The page was folded around a photograph of Michael the

newspaper had used.

De Ru took a moment to study the young man’s face. In the picture,

Michael looked whole and pure. He was smiling at the camera, flashing a

perfect white smile, his dense eyebrows framing his almond-brown eyes.
On
his full head of dark-brown hair rested a pair of sunglasses.

De Ru had seen the photograph in the newspaper the day before, but seeing

it here, in Michael’s killers’ bedroom, disturbed him.

One of the pages in the black hardcover notebook read:

Micheal [ sic]

-Mike

Male

24

Welkom

It was a carefully documented description of Michael’s 2Go profile, in all

likelihood copied by Chané, as the handwriting looked feminine.

De Ru made another startling discovery in the notebook. Someone had

copied by hand the Volksblad’s front-page articles about the murder, 10

presumably that same Tuesday morning:

2011-04-05 (Facebook-slagting)

Marisa Phillips berig uit Welkom: Die slagoffer se suster het aan Volksblad
gesê:

‘My broer sou nooit iemand by die begrafplaas [ sic] ontmoet het nie.’ ’n
Jong man

van Welkom, wat ’n meisie ná ’n Facebook-afspraak die eerste keer die

naweek sou
ontmoet, is grusaam by die begrafplaas [ sic] buite die stad vermoor …

(Marisa Phillips reports from Welkom: The victim’s sister told Volksblad:
‘My

brother would never have met someone at the cemetery.’

A young man from Welkom, who would have met a girl for the first time
after

arranging a date on Facebook, was gruesomely murdered at the graveyard

outside

the city …)

If it was her handwriting, Chané must have gotten some kind of kick out of

this; it was another trophy documenting her and Maartens’ work.

De Ru photographed a number of rusted Supermax blades he found in a

blue toolbox. On one of the walls of the flat there was the skull of a goat,
and

pictures stuck together to form a forlorn tree, its roots stretching deep
beneath

the earth, reaching for life.

‘Because you have taken a life, your life will be taken too!’ De Ru

overheard an angry police officer shouting at Maartens, who was still

chilling

against the wall, looking on as the police investigated his bloody

handiwork.

‘Just because you cannot see the deceased does not mean he is not standing
right beside you,’ Maartens said flatly.

A silence fell over the room. It blew the wind out of all the officers’ sails

who were on the scene. But the silence was short-lived when pandemonium

suddenly broke out in the street. Chané’s father, Jacques van Heerden, and

stepmother, Tania, had arrived.

Nel introduced herself to them and explained that their daughter had just

been arrested for the murder of Michael van Eck, the shocking case in all
the

media headlines. Sheer horror came over Jacques van Heerden’s face. Then,

as if this was not really happening, he turned on the police. In an instant he

had become an aggresive lion protecting its cub.

He stormed towards Van Zyl and the other officers hovering around

Chané, who was now getting into a police vehicle. ‘What the hell do you

think you’re doing?’

Van Zyl thought Van Heerden was about to punch him in the face, but then

he darted towards Chané.

‘What the hell is going on here?’ he bellowed as he embraced his youngest

child.

Van Zyl explained what had been found in the flat. Van Heerden’s face

was distorted in pain, as if he was being tortured. Beside him was an even
more shocked and distraught Tania, her hands covering her face. She was

shaking. Pulling away from Chané, and with his hands still on her
shoulders,

Van Heerden looked her in the eyes.

‘Is it true what these people are saying, Chané?’

‘It’s all true, Daddy.’

Van Heerden began to cry.

‘Don’t cry, Daddy; it’s me who should cry, not you,’ said Chané.

Her father shook his head in disbelief. Never in a million years did either

he or his wife ever suspect that Chané could be involved in such a

horrendous

crime.

‘Why did you do it? Why did you do it?’ Van Heerden implored his

daughter.

‘It was something I’ve wanted to do since I was three years old. I wanted

to do it, I did it, and I would do it again,’ she said coolly and calmly, as if

explaining why she had been caught doing something without permission in

the science lab. Her father was shell-shocked, listening to the words but

unable to understand their meaning. It was impossible. There must be some

kind of mistake. But it was clear that this was no mistake. Chané, his

daughter, was admitting to this horrendous crime. Defeated, Van Heerden

took a step back and allowed the police to take his child away.

Nel drove the suspects to the police station, where two teams stood ready

to take over, as protocol dictated. Officers independent of the investigation

always process the suspects and take them to the crime scene to point out

evidence. This is done to protect the human rights of the suspects in order to

ensure that they are not coerced (or can allege that they have been coerced)

into doing or saying anything. The teams would accompany the couple,

separately, to the crime scene.

For further proof that the suspects were not physically forced into

admitting guilt or cooperating with the police, they would also be

photographed.

Nel proceeded to her office, where she wrote up all that had transpired that

day. She was exhausted.

A small group of police officers, who had stayed behind at the flat, and

who were deeply disturbed by the gruesome findings, gathered one last
time.

They bowed their heads as Krügel led them in prayer. Krügel asked God to

protect the people of Welkom from the evil that had fallen upon them and to

bring light into the lives of young people.

At the police station, the two teams of police officers took the couple into
separate offices to be processed. Chané seemed to be in a light-hearted
mood,

and smiled at the officer when he informed her that they had to take

photographs of her. Wearing a bright-red top and black pants, her mouth

curving downwards, she is shown in the images lifting up the right sleeve of

her T-shirt. A healing pinkish cut is revealed on her upper arm. Multiple

horizontal cut marks that have healed can be seen on her left upper arm, as

well as underneath her left arm.

The burn mark under her right arm and a dark-pink cut mark on her left

side are, however, fresh signs of the self-mutilation in which she has been

engaging. Around her wrists are black rubber bands, and she wears a silver

ring on her left ring finger with a silver fly protruding from it. Her small,

slender frame is evident when she poses for her mug shot.

Her eyes look sullen. Dead.

Chané was the first suspect to be taken to the crime scene, while Maartens

stayed behind at the station.

A ghostly atmosphere met the officers when they arrived at the cemetery.

It was already pitch-dark when they walked past row upon row of graves.
An

ominous silence followed them as the light of their torches cast long
shadows
on the ground, reminding them of the skyline of a long-deserted city.

The flash of the camera splashed stoic beams of light on the misty scene

where Michael van Eck’s blood stains were the only evidence of the violent

crime that had transpired there. The heavens began to drip. At first gently,
as

if in warning, but then the rain started coming down hard.

One police officer took notes while another held an umbrella over his head

as Chané, cheap cigarette in hand, took them on a tour of her and her
fiancé’s

murderous route: from the chapel to the boom gate, back to the chapel, up
the

path leading to the boundary fence, to the tree where the shallow grave they

had dug, using knives and spoons, was situated. Smouldering cigarette still
in

hand, she pointed to Michael’s final resting place. A small bunch of yellow

roses wrapped in plastic and tied with a yellow ribbon lay where they had

buried his corpse.

Once their work at the graveyard was done, the officers took Chané to the

flat, where she showed them her handiwork. As she arrived back at the
police

station, soaking wet, it was Maartens’ turn. Like Chané, he also cooperated

fully.
De Ru, who had stayed behind with the rest of the forensics team to search

for and photograph evidence in the flat, was flabbergasted when Maartens’

mother suddenly arrived there. Salomé van der Merwe and Maartens’
father,

Francois, had been divorced for many years. Like everyone else, they had

heard about the murder of Michael van Eck via the media, perhaps even

passed a comment about it around the dinner table. Perhaps something

along

the lines of ‘What is this world coming to? Who could be so sick?’

De Ru knew Salomé. She was a dedicated, well-respected teacher who

taught his sons at one of the local primary schools. Maartens had attended
the

same primary school and had been the dux pupil in his final year. This
would

hit her very hard. De Ru did not know anyone more prim and proper, more

etiquette-driven and respectful. She was also the principal of the school’s
pre-

primary faculty.

Maartens’ father and stepmother, it turned out, were at the Klein Karoo

Kunstefees, an Afrikaans arts and culture festival in Oudsthoorn in the

Western Cape.

It was still raining heavily when the police arrived at the flat with Maartens
after their visit to the graveyard. Maartens immediately spotted his mother’s

car. Waiting. Instantly the arrogance, the air he had about him, was gone.
He

looked like a little boy too scared to go on stage to perform in the school

play.

He refused to get out of the police car. Perhaps it had finally dawned on

him how disappointed his mother was going to be. What a disappointment
he

was to her. He told the police officers he would go in, but not while his

mother was there. Without much prompting, he explained where in the

garden the police should dig to find the rest of the victim’s remains, and the

officers drove Maartens back to the police station. They would wait there
for

his mother to leave.

The cell

Chané and Maartens were both soaking wet when Nel met them back at the

police station. It was already way past her bedtime. Something deep within

her felt sorry for the two pathetic figures before her. Perhaps it was her

maternal instinct.

She drove the suspects back to their flat. Both Chané and Maartens were
quiet, the exchanges between them restricted to a nod, a whisper, a squeeze

of the hand. Before leaving for the flat, Nel had contacted her colleagues to

find out whether Maartens’ mother had left yet. With the coast clear, she
was

now taking them back there so that Maartens could do his walk-through and

for both of them to change into dry clothes.

On their arrival, Nel discovered that the police officers had not yet located

the rest of Michael’s remains, even though they had dug up much of the

garden. As if she were his mother, Nel turned to Maartens and said: ‘Gaan

wys gou-gou waar jy dit begrawe het.’ (Hurry up and go and show where
you

buried it.)

Maartens did as he was told. He even grabbed a spade to help. It seemed as

if the couple, especially Chané, trusted Nel, but none of the other police

officers. In fact, Chané told Nel straight-up: ‘I don’t trust them.’ But when

Nel asked Chané a question, she always answered her.

His mother forgotten, Maartens looked amped for his photo shoot. Leaning

on a spade, he posed proudly for the camera in the back garden of the flat, a

smug smile on his face. In his white takkies, blue jeans, a bright, royal-blue

T-shirt and a black jacket, he pointed to a specific area and then started

digging to expose the first of three black bags. The police took over at that
point, and opened the bags to reveal the rest of Michael’s remains: his
flayed

skull, left foot, right arm and severed hand. Another bag contained his

clothing and belongings, including his white Fila takkies, his socks and the

smashed pieces of his Ericsson cellphone. In the third bag was a dead cat.

The police also unearthed the skeletal remains of at least two other cats.

Undoubtedly, the partial remains and blood found in various containers in

the

flat came from these unfortunate creatures.

When Maartens was finished, Nel accompanied the couple inside so that

they could change, but only Chané put on dry clothes. Maartens did not

bother to change or take clean clothes back to the police station. He did not

seem to care. In fact, he seemed distant, almost out of it. Before they left,

Chané grabbed two jackets – one for her and one for Maartens.

Nel bagged Michael’s possessions found inside the flat, which included his

wallet, some cash, his gold-framed glasses, a yellow, toy-like car air-

freshener and a Eurythmics CD. Police officers guarded the flat for the rest
of

the night to ensure that no one could disturb the scene until Nel and her
team

had completed their investigation.

In silence, Nel drove the suspects back to the police station. Despite

wearing handcuffs, Chané and Maartens held hands in the backseat. Later,

Nel would learn that the couple’s plan had been to commit suicide if they

were caught for the murder. They had sewn pills inside the seams of their

jackets on which to overdose.

But Maartens chickened out. It is not certain how Chané knew that he

would not go through with the plan, as she later alleged that Maartens had

told her ‘while they were sleeping’. According to Chané, she and Maartens

would ‘meet’ at a certain location at night in their sleep – a secret place she

and Maartens called Ashmore Valley. It was here that she alleged she learnt

that Maartens was not going to go through with the plan. She then decided

that she would not go through with it either.

Late on that Tuesday night, Nel accompanied Chané to her cell. She could

sense a darkness about the girl, but she wasn’t afraid of the timid-looking

creature, even though she knew she was jointly responsible for a most

heinous crime.

By the time Nel arrived home to her husband, she was emotionally

exhausted. Her children were already asleep. As she settled into bed, she

realised she had developed a debilitating migraine. She hadn’t had one of

those in over a year. Nel got up and washed down some tablets with a glass
of water and again tried to get some sleep, hoping she would have
recovered

in the morning. But instead she got up again, this time to vomit. It would be
a

restless night.

Early the next morning, her head felt numb as she made her way to the

station. The atmosphere there was electric. It was clear something had

happened during the night. Officers were strategising near Chané’s cell.

Nel peered inside. Chané was sitting on her small bed, covered in blood.

She had cut her legs open with a tin mug. One of the officers told Nel that

Chané had torn the solid mug apart with her bare hands. Blood was
spattered

on the bed and floor.

On the wall above the young woman, letters written in scarlet stared back

at Nel:

Along came a little girl.

Nel felt nauseous.

Chané’s eyes pointed to a piece of white bread, twice the size of a small

piece of communion bread, beside her on the cell floor. Nel picked it up. A

strand of hair was tied tightly around the top, almost like the head of a

voodoo doll. Nel saw that the hair resembled her own short, coarse hair. She
remembered the migraine.

‘Had a good night’s sleep, Tannie?’ Chané inquired sweetly.

Sitting there, she looked like the devil’s own child.

‘You will never beat me,’ Nel said calmly, and walked out.

The courtroom

Chané and Maartens had their first court appearance within 48 hours of
their

arrest. By 9 a.m. on 8 April, the small courtroom of the Welkom

magistrate’s

court was bursting at the seams, and there was a heavy police presence.

Angry and curious community members, some of whom had to stand due to
a

lack of space, had come in protest against the brutal ‘satanic’ murder that
had

shocked the country. Volksblad’s reporters were there to document the

dramatic five minutes of the killers’ appearance before the court. Michael’s

family sat near the front.11 Henriëtte sat on the edge of her seat as she

mentally prepared herself for her first sighting of her son’s killers.

The court attendees whispered among themselves, waiting with bated

breath as the 20-year-old Chané shuffled in from the cells, her feet dragging
the heavy chains locked around her ankles, while her black hair formed a
silk

cloak covering her downturned face. A long-sleeved black-and-white jersey

concealed the hodgepodge of fresh wounds and scars of old, healed cuts and

cigarette burns on her arms. Chané shunned the strange, staring eyes
burning

into her back as she sat down on the hard wooden bench, so similar to the

ones she’d had to endure as a child attending church. Still, she seemed

detached and unaffected by it all.

Although seemingly unperturbed by the proceedings, 24-year-old Maartens

looked equally unkempt. Dressed in a black T-shirt with thin, bright stripes

and with his black hair cut short, he shuffled in close behind Chané. He also

kept his head lowered to avoid the judgemental stares.

Only when a court orderly asked the suspects to stand did Chané, who

wore no make-up, reveal her face as she flicked her hair over her shoulders
to

look up at the magistrate.

Magistrate Tony Brown ordered that no photographs or videos were to be

taken of the accused. He did not give a reason for this ruling. Perhaps he
felt

flashing cameras would be too invasive, or perhaps it was so early in the

investigation that it was a preventative measure should an identity parade be

necessary. The couple’s flat was still in lockdown and, although they had

admitted that they had acted alone in committing the crime, the possibility
of

more arrests had not been ruled out.

But with the judge not giving any reason for his decision, the public had no

idea why they would not be allowed to see the accused. It sometimes seems

that in South African courts, the accused have more rights than the victims,

their loved ones and the traumatised public, all of whom are desperately

seeking closure.

Although the front seats were kept open for the family of the accused,

Michael’s family moved into them when it became apparent that no family

members or supporters of the accused were going to be attending.

Chané and Maartens did not apply for bail. As soon as Brown postponed

the proceedings to 20 May 2011 to allow for further investigation, he left

the

courtroom. Henriëtte jumped up, ready to confront her son’s killers. She

wanted to look them in the eyes. As an upfront kind of person who was

unafraid of confrontation, she wanted the million unanswered questions

clamouring in her mind to be answered. They all came down to: Why? Why

Michael?
The accused, however, rose swiftly, turned around and went back down the

stairs to the cells. From there they’d be transported back to their respective

jails, where they were being incarcerated as awaiting-trial prisoners.

Moments later, Henriëtte began crying inconsolably, feeling completely

powerless to avenge what had been done to her son. Her husband and

children wrapped her in their arms. They, too, were broken. Still, Henriëtte

felt as if Armageddon had arrived and she, alone, was left.

The Van Ecks, and especially Henriëtte, who had made it her sole purpose

to find out the truth, were convinced that the two accused did not act alone.

Chané, a petite girl tipping the scales at just under 52 kilograms, and the
lean

Maartens could not, in her mind, have been able to take down the strong, fit

Michael on their own, especially in such a brutal way.

Although the couple had fully confessed to their roles in the murder, the

police continued to investigate the possibility that they may have had

accomplices, or ties with satanic or occult groups. The couple’s rental flat

remained cordoned off as the police continued to search for possible clues.

Press photographers were disappointed when police whisked the couple

away in a BMW with black-tinted windows. With the case remanded to 20

May, the country would have to wait a while longer for the media to finally
capture the couple in court together.

The funeral

Michael couldn’t stand funerals. To him, they were sombre affairs that were

best avoided. He would outright refuse to attend a funeral, no matter what

his

family had to say. If his mother, father or sisters did get him to actually
arrive

at a service, he would refuse to get out of the car. This was not because he

was a disobedient child. On the contrary, Michael was highly sensitive to

the

needs and feelings of others. He much preferred to live and let live, and the

sadness of funerals was simply too much for him to bear.

Never in a million years did his parents, sisters and brothers-in-law think

that they would be the ones arranging the funeral of the son and brother

whose future had seemed so bright thanks to his determination to excel in

all

to which he put his mind.

On Wednesday 13 April it was Michael’s family who could not bear to get

out of bed, let alone out of the car. The day he died, his murderers had taken

more than one life.

Medicated and broken, Henriëtte walked into the small, grey chapel of the

Avbob funeral parlour. The mother had not been allowed to see her son one

last time. Instead, she had been limited to touching only his scarred and icy-

cold hand. She felt dead inside. People’s consoling words did not reach her;

their hands on her shoulders felt as if she were passing through a busy train

station, as if it were all a dream.

In the front of the room was a yellowwood coffin with Michael’s remains.

A bouquet of white and red roses decorated the closed lid.

As friends and family filled the chairs at the memorial service, the funeral

director assisted in handing out the remembrance sheet and order of service.

On the front cover was a picture of Michael, looking carefree with his

sunglasses on his head and smiling his haunting smile. It was a Michael
who

had filled the lives of the people he knew with joy and love; a Michael who

had dedicated his life to his family.

The finality of his death was inscribed beneath his handsome face: 3 April

2011. It would never be determined whether his suffering had ended before

or after midnight that night.

On this day, the family tried to set aside the way his life had ended so that

they could pay their final respects and let their beloved Michael have the
burial he deserved.

It was an intimate gathering, which was perhaps what Michael would have

preferred, had he had any say. Wracked with grief, his closest family and

friends were all there, a personification of the saying, ‘To the world you
may

be one, but to one you may be the world.’

Naas van Eck, dressed in a black suit, sat next to his wife with his back

ramrod straight. The lines on his face were hard, as if the tears of the past
few

days had etched them in acid. Sitting next to them, just as distraught, were

Michael’s four sisters, Natasha, Michelle, Bianka and Hendriena. Their

almost identical, beautifully crafted and defined features were grief-

stricken.

They would be the coffin-bearers, along with their parents.

On the remembrance sheet, the message from Michael’s family read:

Our eyes are exhausted from crying, but our cup is overflowing with peace
and joy

in the knowledge that [Michael] is a child of Christ. We will remember

forever the

honest and genuine person that he was. We will miss him, but we are
thankful to our

Heavenly Father for the time that he was lent to us. We wish him rest until
we meet
again.12

Pastor Willie Dippenaar stood before the small congregation and raised his

hands in prayer. He prayed that the Lord deliver Welkom from evil. ‘The

extraordinary death of Michael van Eck must be a turning point for

satanism

in South Africa,’ he said.

Dippenaar said that Michael’s life and death must serve a greater purpose.

Raising his voice in apparent anger, he directed harsh words towards the

parents of the accused murderers: ‘People must stop being blinded to the

reality that South Africa is the world leader in satanism and divorce. Is this

something to be proud of? 1 Corinthians 13 tells us love must do his

neighbour no wrong. The Bible says we must go back onto our knees and

confess our sins. I don’t see that South Africans are on their knees.’

He turned to Naas and Henriëtte van Eck. ‘To the parents of the accused I

want to say there is no excuse for passivity or a lack of involvement. It

grieves me that it has become the norm. Michael kept no secrets from his

parents – especially not his mother. He treated his parents with respect. He

had strong moral values.

‘He never hesitated to rush to the aid of a friend in need. People wonder

how God could have allowed this to happen. Why did God not intervene?
God has a perfect will, but people’s own choices are part of His admissible

will.’

Dippenaar told the story of how Jesus had once asked God in the garden of

Gethsemane whether it would be possible for the cup to pass him by. God
did

not answer him. Jesus knew what was awaiting him, but also that it had to

happen. The crucifixion of Jesus at the top of Golgotha was God’s

admissible

will.

‘Here is proof that God loves us and will, despite the fall of man, never

abandon us. Every one of us will have to account individually before God.

May the legacy of Michael, an outspoken Christian, change the lives of

young people who are on the wrong path.’

Friends also had an opportunity to express what Michael had meant to

them. Gisela, who was devastated by the death of her ex-boyfriend, had

written down the following, which was read out during the service:

Nothing will ever be the same again without you. After our relationship
ended it

was incredibly difficult for the both of us to get over each other. But I could
pray for

your happiness and success. But how do I go on now? How do I live my

dreams
knowing that you never will?

I wish things could have been different and I am sorry that I couldn’t give
you

everything in our relationship and that I may have disappointed you. But I
say thank

you. Thank you that I could have had you as a part of my life, even for such
a short

while.13

Gisela described Michael as a hard-working, ambitious young man who had

grabbed every opportunity with both hands. Somebody with an

extraordinary,

clear vision of the future, she said.

Christo Spamer, one of Michael’s best friends, said he had always had a

bright smile on his face. The two went to school together and studied

together.

‘Michael was a family guy,’ he said in his eulogy. He described Michael as

a special person with an affinity for the feelings of others.

Michael was finally laid to rest in the quiet serenity of the well-kept Eden

churchyard near Hennenman. It was the dignified burial he deserved. His

parents requested that only family members attend the grave site.

Figures dressed in black huddled together as a unit as they said goodbye to

Michael one last time.

The monster of Welkom

Standing before his congregation clothed in a black suit, the pastor raised
his

hands above his granddaughter’s head. The eight-year-old shivered.

Reverend Attie Jonker’s speech gained momentum and his voice increased
in

volume as he called out to God for her redemption.

The child’s heart thumped as her shivering escalated into convulsions and
blood and adrenalin surged through her veins.

She had nowhere to hide.

As a young child, Chané would often sit isolated somewhere in a corner,

lost

in her own thoughts, captivated by her sketches. She liked to draw more
than

anything else. She was very sentimental about her drawings, which she kept

hidden in secret places. She often drew pictures for her mother, Charmaine.

Like other small children in need of love and attention, she collected small

items, like little sticks and stones, which she gave as gifts to her mother or

from which she made her own creations.

Riddled with accusations of affairs, her father, Jacques, and mother’s once

deeply passionate marriage had devolved into a tumultuous disaster.

Charmaine had wanted only two children. After the birth of her and

Jacques’ son, Juan, they had another child, a beautiful daugthter called

Liezel, who was the spitting image of her attractive, brunette mother. But
due

to the increasingly intense arguments between Jacques and Charmaine,

often

instigated by jealous rages, it was not a good atmosphere in which to raise a

family. Jacques accused his wife of cheating on him with numerous
younger

men. By the time Charmaine was ready to leave, she discovered the worst:

she was pregnant again, with Chané.

Charmaine’s plans to pick up and leave were shattered.

The confused young girl stood in front of the church, exposed, vulnerable
and

humiliated. The small, slim blonde girl was not like other children. She was

exceptionally quiet and liked to be on her own. She played by herself and
had

few, if any, friends.

In her loneliness, she created imaginary friends.

Reverend Jonker, head of the Apostolic Faith Mission Church (Apostoliese

Geloofsending or AGS in Afrikaans) in Theunissen and the girl’s maternal

grandfather, was convinced his granddaughter was possessed.

The Apostolic Faith Mission Church was the first, and is the largest,

Pentecostal church in the country.14 The church places an emphasis on

faith

healing and permits the ordination of women preachers. It practises foot

washing in its communion rite and considers any baptism performed

without

the words ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ to be void. Alcohol, drugs and tobacco are
forbidden to its members, who are also advised to only marry other persons

who have been ‘saved’.15 The church also requires their worshippers to

display the character, love and power of their Lord, Jesus Christ, in their

daily lives. 16

Chané did not feel the love as the eyes of the starch-collared audience

burnt through her skin.

Chané was born in Fochville, Gauteng, on 17 July 1990. What should have

been a joyous occasion was, instead, one of gloom. Charmaine allegedly

refused to hold her newborn child, and it was Jacques who would change

Chané’s nappies, and bathe, feed and console the ever-crying infant.

Charmaine tore up pictures of her unplanned baby and cried herself to

sleep at night.

When she was older, Chané witnessed an ugly argument between her

parents in the family kitchen, during which she learnt that her mother had

only ever wanted her brother and sister.

Her feelings of rejection intensified.

The marital discord between Jacques and Charmaine was worsening, but

the marriage would drag on for another six years before it finally collapsed.

Charmaine was granted custody of all three children.

After the divorce, Charmaine had several destructive relationships with a

series of men, some of whom abused her not only emotionally, but

physically, too. Her relationship with her second husband, a special-forces

major in the South African Army, was characterised by verbal and physical

abuse. He allegedly beat Chané so severely with a cane that she bled.

The major ruled the household with military discipline. One night,

Charmaine fled the house, abandoning her children with the man Chané

perceived to be a psychopathic aggressor. Charmaine eventually left him,

too,

and married the man to whom she was still married at the time of Chané’s

arrest. The family moved to the neighbouring town of Virginia. Chané

considered her new stepfather to be an obsessive control freak. They did not

have a good relationship.

Chané spent most of her days alone at their home in Beatrix Street. Like so

many other lonely children, she turned to an imaginary friend for

companionship. Her friend’s name was Azazel, and she was Chané’s only

companion.

There was one major difference, though. Unlike other children’s imaginary

friends, Azazel was a goat-like demon. A symbol of Satan.

Azazel had a lot of qualities the quiet, timid Chané did not feel she

possessed. Azazel was strong and outspoken, and would take over Chané
when she became angry. Later, another imaginary ‘friend’, Norman, took

Azazel’s place. Chané could confide in him and rely on him for company.

Even when she was 20 years old, she still sometimes spoke to him.

Chané’s childhood was marked with rejection. She felt like a freak –

different and unwanted. Because she moved a lot between her mom and
dad,

she did not experience much emotional security.

As a young child, she was also afraid of the dark. Charmaine had told her

daughter that at night her dolls came alive and played with each other.
While

this would have excited most children – some would perhaps even have

stayed awake to play with them – this innocent remark scared Chané

immensely. At night, overwhelmed by fear of what the dolls would do when

they woke up, she would blindfold them and tie them up with shoelaces.

The instability of her childhood would continue well into Chané’s early

teens. Her mother found her becoming increasingly unmanageable.

Chané would later tell the social worker assigned to her case, Elizabeth

Vergottini, that her stepfather once took her along on a hunting trip. He’d

hunt buck and hares and then feed them to the dogs. If he decided to

slaughter the animals, he’d give the hares to Chané to flay.

While flaying the dead animals, Chané realised that she experienced the
same relief as she did when cutting herself with sharp objects. This marked

the beginning of her path of self-mutilation or self-harm. It relieved the

anguish caused by her painful childhood and dysfunctional family life, and

the labels, real or imaginary, she had internalised and which had become a

part of who she was.

She started to pick up dead creatures – rats or whatever she could find –

wherever she went. The family kept snakes at home and, if ever she found a

dead rat, she’d flay it before feeding it to the snakes.

Chané continued cutting herself in an attempt to find emotional solace.

This form of self-mutilation is common among teens and young adults, and

has become a global phenomenon among children who do not have the

capacity or opportunity to open up about their emotional angst and trauma.

Chané hid her behaviour by always wearing long-sleeved tops.

When Chané was 10, her mother, driven to her wits’ end by her younger

daughter’s unmanageable behaviour, dropped her off at her father’s place

and

went home without her. Still in primary school, Chané was put on
medication

because she was regarded as depressive. She still had no close friends.

By then, her father had married Tania.

One day Chané got into a heated argument with her stepmother in the
kitchen. She became so angry when Tania did not let her have her way that

she grabbed a kitchen knife and tried to stab her, but Tania managed to

escape any harm.

Tania and Jacques decided to treat this incident as if it never happened.

Chané loved dogs, and one in particular, a mixed-breed dog she called

Jazz. Chané was apparently very upset when Jazz passed away. At some

stage she also had a kitten of which she was particularly fond.

Chané did not get on well with her peers, so at 11 she began socialising

with teenagers much older than her after school. In Grade 7, one of Chané’s

friends introduced her to sniffing benzene. At 12, she began experimenting

with designer drugs such as Ecstasy. Her drug use numbed the pain, and

made her feel invincible and accepted.

Chané often slept over at the homes of her older friends. This practice took

a tragic turn, however, when she was date-raped at a drug-fuelled party. Her

rapist was someone she knew well. Chané was still a virgin at the time, but

that day she felt her innocence was taken forever. Her body felt torn, her
soul

broken. In one of her sketches, Chané drew a girl resembling her lying on a

bed, her pants unzipped. Scrawled under the sketch is the name of her rapist

and the words: ‘You took my innocence at 12.’

The instability of Chané’s youth was not helped by the fact that Jacques

and Tania’s relationship was going through a turbulent patch. Seeking

emotional security, Chané turned to older men. By the time she was 14 and

her sister Liezel 17, their brother Juan had left home and the sisters were

living with their father in Welkom. Jacques tried to salvage the situation as

best he could. He loved his younger daughter and tried to care for her to the

best of his abilities. Most of the time, this was by just letting her be. Tania,

who had never had any children of her own, treated Chané like her own

daughter.

But Jacques was not sure how he could undo the damage that had already

been done. Chané remained a difficult and emotionally unstable child,

though

Jacques regarded her erratic behaviour as mere rebeliousness.

When Chané was 15, Charmaine and her husband left her and her older

sister behind in South Africa to start a new life in New Zealand. At about
this

time, Chané got involved with a self-proclaimed satanist, Orlando, who, at

22, was much too old for her. Chané died her hair pitch-black, painted her

nails a darker shade of coal, and continued a lifestyle of rebellion and drug

use.

On Halloween one year, Orlando introduced Chané to acid. However,

although intrigued, she did not participate in Orlando and his friends’
satanic

rituals. She was drawn more towards paganism and the occult. Over their

four-year relationship, Orlando did nothing for Chané’s self-esteem. He

isolated her from other people and would, by her own account, put her
down

and humiliate her. Once again, she did not get the emotional support she so

desperately craved from a person she cared about. Jacques and Tania were

deeply concerned about the relationship.

Although she was highly intelligent, Chané had no interest in school and

did not perform academically at Welkom Gymnasium High School. At the

age of 16, she dropped out. For a while she went to live with her sister, and

her life actually began to look up.

Jacques and Tania were relieved when Chané decided to pursue her love

for art at the local Goldfields Further Education and Training College. They

were thrilled when she seemed to return to her old self again. She went back

to her natural-blonde hair colour and wore her hair in long plaits that hung
to

her waist. Jacques was convinced that Chané really was cleaning up her act.

She was passionate about her art, put in many extra hours over weekends
and
excelled in her studies. Jacques and Tania were ecstatic when she won

awards in her final year and finished as one of the top students in her class.

After completing her studies, Chané landed a job as a graphic designer at a

Welkom design studio. She was a dedicated and hard-working employee

who

displayed drive and passion.

By the time she started going out with Warren Jurack, she was the

quintessential girl next door. So much so that Warren’s parents thought she

was the sweetest and loveliest girlfriend he had ever brought home: a
loving,

quiet, respectful girl who knew her place. Chané often stayed with the

Juracks for up to two weeks at a time, and they treated her like their own

child.

Warren was infatuated with the creative, soft-spoken Chané. Once he

asked her about the cut marks on her arms. She told him that she used to cut

herself as a child, when ‘others would hurt’ her. She didn’t seem depressed
at

the time, though. Chané kept her and Warren’s memories in a scrapbook,

though she never allowed him to see what she had written. To her, the

scrapbook was like a secret diary.

Warren didn’t think anything of the fact that Chané never wanted to go to
church with him. He always invited her to come along, but she refused.
Once

she agreed to join him to ‘support’ him, but it never happened.

But the romance was short-lived, as five months into the relationship,

towards the end of 2010, Chané called it quits. It came completely out of
the

blue. She gave Warren no reason whatsoever, except to say that the

relationship wasn’t working for her any more. Warren was devastated.
Chané

immediately removed all her belongings that were still at his home. He
never

saw her again.

Warren knew both Michael van Eck and Maartens van der Merwe. He and

Michael had attended St Helena Primary School, while he knew Maartens

through a mutual friend, Roy Verster. He knew Maartens as a pleasant guy.

After the news of the graveyard murder broke and it became known that

his ex-girlfriend was a prime suspect, people were shocked and judged

Warren. Surely he should have known?

In response, he wrote on his Facebook wall:

Kan nie glo ek het met daai v****n b***h uit gegaan nie eks lus en
hardloop met hule

kope in n v****n muur vas [ sic]

(I can’t believe I went out with that fucking bitch. I feel like taking their
heads

and running them into a fucking wall.)

The eight-year-old facing the congregation felt scared. As her grandfather,

the head of the church, exorcised the ‘demons’ from her, the strangers in the

pews stared at her with piercing, judgemental eyes. Chané never felt at
home

in a church again. Not after she was paraded in front of the congregation as
if

she were some kind of freak.

Then again, she had never felt at home anywhere in this world to begin

with.

10

Norman and Lilith

He knew the day he met her that he did not like her.

The girl looked doll-like as she walked into the Mr Video store, where Roy

Verster and his friend, Warren Jurack, both worked. Her blonde hair flowed

down her slender back and it was evident that Warren was infatuated, taken

in by the girl’s sweetness and beauty.

Roy had met her once before at the store, and this time she was back just to

come and say hello.

On the surface she looked normal and even unobtrusive, but Roy saw it.

He knew its name, the dark mass of bad energy her aura was exuding as she

stood flirting and giggling with Warren, a tattooed, slender, dark-haired guy,

beside the tall shelves where DVDs had long replaced videos.

Roy felt uncomfortable; its presence was unbearable. He was worried for

his friend, who did not have the ability Roy had and wasn’t able to sense the

bad aura. Roy, a big, proud guy who was also a bit nerdy and introverted,
did

not like advertising the gift, or burden, he had been subjected to since he
was

a young boy – the capacity to sense good and evil spirits around people.

These spirits revealed their names and desires to Roy and were as real to
him

as any physical being.

‘Can I talk to Chané for a sec?’ Roy asked Warren.

‘Sure,’ Warren replied, not sure what Roy was on about, but nevertheless

trusting his friend to go off alone to talk with his crush.

Chané and Roy walked to Roy’s office at the back of the store for some

privacy.

‘Listen here, who is this Norman?’ he asked Chané.

Chané’s face fell. She understood.

‘Who the fuck gives you the right to read me!’

Roy was taken aback by her reaction. He had shared his readings with

others before, but never had anyone reacted with such fury and disgust.

‘This is a problem for me,’ Roy said. ‘Warren is my friend, and this thing

of yours is not going to allow a relationship.’

Roy knew that Norman was not going to like Warren and, moreover, he

did not want this thing, this demon he had sensed in Chané, to cause harm
to

his friend.

‘I’ve got it under control,’ she said coldly.

‘Well, I will make sure of that,’ said Roy.

Chané gave him a deathly stare before turning around and walking out of

the room.

The conversation happened just before Chané and Warren officially began

dating. She dumped him after only five months in September 2010, leaving

him heartbroken. But she did not stay single for long. Three months later
she

was in a relationship with Roy’s best friend, Maartens van der Merwe.

Roy and Maartens had first met in Grade 5 at the Naudéville Primary
School.

They soon became friends, playing computer games together and taking up
chess as an extra-curricular activity. But then Roy left to go to another
school

and he and Maartens drifted apart. They did not see each other again until a

few years after matric, in early 2010, when they bumped into each other at

the computer lab at Damelin College. The old friends made an instant

connection again, chatting about old times, computers and computer games.

For Roy, this friendship could not have come at a better time. He had just

broken off a long-term relationship with his fiancée after she was unfaithful

to him. Maartens was extremely supportive of Roy in his hour of need. For

Roy, it was good to talk to someone with whom he felt comfortable and
who

did not judge him. They rekindled their friendship and enjoyed each other’s

company.

Roy was always drawn to the goodness in a person’s heart. He could see

the person’s potential despite what was holding them back. And he had
great

respect for Maartens’ exceptional intelligence. Maartens had a photographic

memory, an extraordinary ability to remember dates and names. Roy

considered Maartens to be ‘stupidly clever’, someone who would

hypothetically struggle to change a light bulb, but who could sit down and

reproduce one from scratch.

It was convenient for Roy when Maartens moved in with him, filling some

of the emptiness of the flat he had previously shared with his fiancée – a

garage attached to his mother’s house, which had been converted into an

apartment. Having Maartens around helped Roy to rid himself of some of

his

own demons – the happiness he had lost and the loneliness he had felt since.

At night, when Roy cried himself awake, Maartens would wake up too.

They’d chat until Roy calmed down again and could go back to sleep.

Maartens became like a brother to Roy. Maartens, Roy learnt, would do

anything, even go to extremes, to make the people he loved happy. If they

were happy, he was happy.

In turn, Roy tried to be a good friend to Maartens, too. Maartens trusted

Roy enough to confide in him that he was battling schizophrenia. Roy did
not

judge him, as he saw Maartens as a fantastic person with great potential.

Maartens admitted to Roy that he feared having an ‘episode’ in a social

situation. Sometimes, when he was with a small group of people, he would

see 12 or 13 people instead of the six or seven who were present. What
would

others think if he spoke to someone who wasn’t there? During an episode,

he
had no way of knowing who was real and who was not. Roy told Maartens
he

should just tell him when this happened, and he would stay with him and
help

him through it.

One night, Roy did a spiritual reading for Maartens. Roy told Maartens

that he sensed a presence around him, and this presence, a female, revealed

her name to Roy during the reading.

‘Her name is Lilith,’ Roy said. Maartens looked surprised. ‘Yes, Lilith, and

you make love to her.’ Maartens was in awe of Roy’s gift, and it made him

feel special to have Lilith.

Only later did Roy discover the history behind the mythical Lilith. At the

time when Lilith revealed herself to him, he had no idea who or what she

was; he had never heard the name before.

The legend of Lilith is one of ‘lust and loathing’. 17 In Mesopotamian

mythology, she had been a female storm demon, a bearer of disease and

death. In Jewish lore, she appears as a demon of the night, manifesting in

Isaiah 34:14 as a screech owl. She is likened to a witch rather than a

goddess

in the Bible; a seductress rather than a prostitute. The many faces of Lilith
are
all tainted with darkness. It is not certain who or what first inspired the

character of Lilith.

Roy, however, ascribes it to Jewish folklore, in which Lilith was said to

have been Adam’s first wife, the predecessor to Eve in the biblical Book of

Genesis. According to the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a text dating from between

the 8th and 10th centuries, Lilith and Adam were in constant conflict, as

Lilith considered herself his equal and refused to submit to him. Two
primary

characteristics are seen in the legends about Lilith: Lilith as an incarnation

of

lust, causing men to be led astray, and Lilith as a child-killing witch, who

strangles helpless babies. This witch-like role that is ascribed to Lilith

reflects

the destructive side of witchcraft.18

Roy saw these tendencies in Maartens’ Lilith: a dominant female refusing

to submit to the will of a man. She was her own spirit with her own desires.

One night, while Chané was still seeing Warren, she and Maartens met. It

was inevitable, as Maartens and Warren had a mutual friend in Roy. Chané

and Maartens struck up a friendship, but as she was seeing Warren, it went
no

further. When Chané broke up with Warren, however, she and Maartens
began to communicate more regularly.

Maartens told Roy he was interested in Chané, but that he wanted to take

things at his own pace. He knew that she and Roy did not get on, but he
asked

Roy to give him and Chané a chance. Roy reluctantly agreed, despite

knowing about Chané’s dark side. He wanted Maartens to be happy. Roy,

too, had moved on since his break-up and had started seeing someone.

In December 2010, Roy invited a bunch of friends over for a braai to

celebrate his 25th birthday. When the sun went down the fire was lit, and

everybody was having a good time until Roy’s girlfriend came to call him.

‘I really think you need to talk to your friend Maartens and his girlfriend.

Maybe tell them to get a room!’ she said, annoyed.

Roy did not even know his friend had scored.

‘Give the guy a break, man!’

Then he saw what his girlfriend meant. In full view of everyone there,

Chané was sitting on Maartens’ lap, straddling him while they kissed

passionately – or rather, swallowed each other’s faces.

At least they still have their clothes on, Roy thought, smiling.

Opportunities such as this did not come by regularly for Maartens, whose

love life had been seriously non-existent.

But Roy’s girlfriend was not letting it go.

‘This is not on, Roy! Do something.’

Roy realised that she was right. His other guests were, by then, feeling

somewhat uncomfortable with the intense display of affection. He

approached his friend. Maartens and Chané respected his request to move

their amorous display inside, and spent the rest of the evening on the couch
in

the living room while the party continued outside.

Roy knew then and there that Maartens was not going to take it slow. As

an avid believer in star signs, Roy knew that Pisces and Cancer were like
fuel

to fire. And from what he saw, Maartens and Chané, Pisces and Cancer

respectively, were flaming hot. Maartens was head over heels and, no
matter

how much Chané annoyed Roy, there was no turning back … Not for
Chané

and Maartens, and certainly not for Norman and Lilith.

Roy and Maartens had long been discussing moving into another, larger

flat. They had found an ideal place in Unicor Street in St Helena. But as

Maartens and Chané grew ever closer, their relationship intensifying, Roy

began to realise that the move was out of the question – unless, of course,
Chané moved in, too.

Roy was actually considering this option, but then he walked into the

bathroom of their flat one evening to use the toilet as Maartens was about to

get into the shower. Roy noticed various cuts on his friend’s body. Some

were long, penetrating wounds, the largest being a long, deep cut on his

chest. Roy was concerned, as he could tell that the cuts had definitely not

been caused by accident.

Maartens, who was normally reserved about such matters, confided in Roy

about his and Chané’s sex life, which involved some ‘knife play’. Roy told

Maartens that the chest cut was disturbingly deep and that he’d have to
calm

down. He found this behaviour too extreme and told Maartens as much.

Although Maartens admitted that it was Chané who had cut him, he was
also

defensive about his girlfriend. Roy reiterated that he did not like Chané and

did not think she was a good influence on Maartens.

Roy didn’t know what to do next. He knew his friend needed help. It was

then that Roy decided to confide in his mother, as she had the wisdom to

know what to do. She was also very fond of the well-mannered Maartens.

Roy’s mother offered to arrange for Maartens and Chané to attend the

Goldfields South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug

Dependence (SANCA) counselling centre, where youths are offered

educational programmes and classes, and can be treated for various

problems,

including drug and alcohol addiction.

Roy soon learnt that on the night the couple was supposed to attend, they

did not stay for the entire session but got up and left after just five minutes.

Roy was furious. He found them relaxing in the flat. At first he decided not
to

say anything, as he knew he was going to lose his temper – and it was no
use

losing one’s temper with the very people you were trying to help. He said

nothing, deciding he’d rather give them a chance to explain why they didn’t

stay.

After a while he did broach the topic, and soon a heated argument between

Roy and Chané ensued. Chané lost it. ‘Your mother wants to tell us how to

live our fucking lives!’ she screamed.

‘Hold your horses. My mother was only trying to help. What you two are

doing is not healthy,’ Roy retaliated.

The argument escalated as Chané continued her rant and, finally, Roy lost

his cool. Maartens watched on powerlessly as the two people he loved most
in the world thundered on in the dead of night, swearing at and insulting
each

other.

Finally, Roy snapped.

‘Take your things and get the fuck out of my house!’ he bellowed.

Chané grabbed her stuff as Roy chased her home like a dog.

By then it was already 1 a.m. Roy gave Maartens an ultimatum: either he

walked out the door with Chané and stayed away from him, or he walked
her

home, broke off the relationship, and he and Maartens resolved everything
in

the morning, with her out of their lives.

Later that day, Maartens returned home to Roy.

‘Chané and I have decided to take the garden flat in Unicor Street,’

Maartens said flatly. ‘I really want to be with her.’

Roy shrugged. ‘Bud, you and I can still be friends and everything. I realise

she might be your future and I want you to be happy, but then you must do

one thing for me: please move out as soon as possible. I’ll give you three

days.’

Maartens felt hurt, but he also respected his friend’s feelings. He and Roy
were close enough for Maartens to understand why Roy wanted him to
leave.

And, after all, his friend was handling the situation in an amicable and

straightforward way. The next day Maartens’ father, Francois, arrived with
a

bakkie to pick up his stuff.

Maartens stayed with his dad until he and Chané were able to move into

the Unicor Street flat. Although Roy and Maartens still got along, they no

longer socialised together. Their communication declined to the occasional

text message, which amounted to little more than a ‘hello’.

Soon, Maartens and Chané retreated into their Unicor Street cocoon.

In the weeks that followed, the two friends basically stopped talking

altogether. Until one day Roy received a text from Maartens, stating that he

needed to see him urgently. Roy immediately set off to meet Maartens in
the

street near his mother’s house.

‘I’ve been diagnosed with cancer …’ said the 24-year-old Maartens.

‘What do you mean you’ve been “diagnosed with cancer”? Where and

how?’ asked Roy, stunned by the revelation.

‘I went to our doctor, Dr Olivier. He diagnosed me. It’s cancer of the brain.

He said I’ve only got a year or two to live …’

Perhaps it was the calm way he said it, but Roy felt sceptical.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay, that’s really bad news … How are things otherwise?’ asked Roy,

who would not speak to his friend about his ‘cancer’ ever again.

The next time Roy fell ill, he visited the same doctor and remembered his

friend’s supposed cancer diagnosis. He and Dr Olivier spoke about

Maartens

briefly before Roy asked the doctor whether he had diagnosed Maartens
with

cancer.

Dr Olivier looked amused and said, ‘No, where’d you get that? Maartens

doesn’t have cancer.’

Roy left with his prescription, baffled as to why Maartens had lied.

A week before the murder, Roy bumped into Maartens at a local watering

hole, the Sportsman’s Bar. Chané was not there, and the two of them spent

the evening chatting, drinking and socialising with their buddies, just like
old

times. Roy noticed nothing out of the ordinary in Maartens’ demeanour –

they just had fun. Later that evening Maartens disappeared, and Roy
assumed
he had walked home like he always did when he started feeling

uncomfortable in a social environment.

It was raining the Sunday night Roy heard about the murder in the

graveyard. Days later, on the Tuesday afternoon, Warren phoned him. He

had

heard from someone else that the police suspected Maartens and Chané of

being the graveyard killers. Roy was taken aback. Where the hell did
Warren

get that?

Curious, Roy and his brother took his mom’s car to drive past the flat just

to check whether there wasn’t really something going on, as Warren had

alleged. They could not believe the mass of police vehicles parked in
Unicor

Street. Roy tried to phone Maartens to check if everything was okay, but

could not get hold of him.

Later, he heard that the couple had indeed been arrested for the murder of

Michael van Eck. Shocked, Roy did not know what to make of this. He had

always known Chané to be evil. But this evil? He had known about
Norman,

and about Norman’s bond with Lilith – but were their masters, Chané and

Maartens, capable of such an atrocity? Could Chané really have pushed

Maartens so far as to kill for her?

Never did he see this coming. Not this.

11

The birth of a relationship

Chané was a dedicated and talented employee. Louis, her boss and the
owner

of the small Welkom-based business, trusted his young graphic designer

implicitly and they had an excellent working relationship. He gave her the

freedom to work independently and creatively and found her to be very

responsible. She would inform Louis if she was running late or if he did not

have to pick her up for work on a particular day, as he would give her a lift
in

the mornings.

Louis was impressed with Chané’s work ethos. She often worked late to

ensure that she got the job done and clients were always happy with what
she

produced. Chané would even look after small administrative tasks like

reminding Louis to call a client, handling invoices, or picking up milk and

sugar for the office.

Chané’s father, Jacques, was very proud of her. They had had a rough past.

But once Chané had begun to excel at her studies in art, she blossomed. In
November 2010, after Chané returned from a trip to Bloemfontein, Jacques

texted her to invite her over for dinner. Sensing she was exhausted from the

trip, he suggested that they postpone the dinner to the next evening.

Chané: Thanks Papa, I think that’s a better idea, I’m dead tired. i hope you
enjoy the

rest of your day. thanks for everything. See you next week. lovies nya

Derived from the end of her name, pronounced Sha-nay, Nya (pronounced

Nay-a) was her family’s term of endearment for the once rebellious
teenager

who, now in her early twenties, seemed to have got her act together. Her

older sister Liezel called her Apie, Afrikaans for ‘little monkey’.

On 27 November 2010, Chané sent a message to her dad before he

departed for New Zealand, where Chané’s brother, Juan, and his wife had

been living for some time.

Chané: You must enjoy your trip Papa. remember to take lots of photos. i
love you

very much. see you when you get back! luv

Chané’s relationship with her stepmother, Tania, whom she called Mamie,

was also going well. They kept in touch regularly and would sometimes go
to

the gym together. With Jacques in New Zealand, Chané often kept her
stepmother company in the evenings.

December 2010

Chané was not in a serious relationship when she got involved with
Maartens

three months after leaving Warren that September. She was casually seeing
a

man with the same name as her father, and to distinguish them from one

another had his name saved on her cellphone as ‘Jacques Cute’. Although

they had a few dates, she easily blew him off or made excuses when she did

not want to see him.

In early December, Tania invited Chané to have dinner with her the next

evening, as she had a restaurant voucher to spend. Chané, however,

apologised and said that she would not be able to make it. This was the first

time she mentioned Maartens’ name in an SMS.

Chané: Hey Mamie, I’m glad to hear all is well, thing are also good this
side, is the

voucher only for tomorrow night, because i’ve already told Maartens that i
will go

with them to panaroti’s for pizza, im so sorry. i wud like to visit on friday
with

Mami? enjoy your evening. lovies u lots.

The day after her dinner date with Maartens, Chané woke up to a sweet text
from him:

Maartens: Hiya! I did’nt want to phone you when ur at work coz your boss
can freak

out or i could wake you LOL!! Njoy the rest of ur day sleepwalker. ;-)

Chané: Hey u, glad 2 see ur still alive. LOL. i dont feel too bad.

4 December 2010

On Saturday 4 December, Maartens invited Chané to visit him where he

lived

at his friend Roy’s place. It was Roy’s birthday party that evening. Initially,

Chané had other plans. Later, however, she texted Maartens:

Chané: Hey u, the thing I was going 2 tonite was cancelled :-) so i can c u
guys

tonite if its fine. i’ll get a lift. cant wait. tata

Maartens: Yay! c u then at 7!

Chané: Lol, c u then :-D

It was on this evening that Chané and Maartens, after making out all night

long, became a couple. Maartens wooed Chané like any other gentleman.

They held hands, they kissed, he treated her to a movie. They SMSed each

other several times during the day to make plans to see one another. Their

texts were sweet – just like those of any other couple falling in love.

5 December 2010
Maartens: Hey u, miss u already. U are the most beautiful, caring and
intelligent girl

I could ever have imagined possible. Freakn glad ur a part of my life!! xx

Chané: I miss u just as much ;-) wish we could b together the whole day, I
am so

happy that u and I clicked so quickly, coz ur great. I can’t wait to c u again.

Maartens: Hey u are a goddess wow thank u for this evening. You must also
sleep

tight. C u tomoro hopefully … Mwa mwa mwa

6 December 2010

Chané: Gud morning, hope u slept tight :-) i just wanted 2 let you know my
mxit

doesnt work anymore, i opened a new account and ive added you already

Chané and Maartens went on to chat on the mobile social network Mxit and

later also in a phone conversation.

Chané: i know. im just so sick and tired of explaining it to the [missing text
in

original SMS], thanks for phoning, i appreciate it a lot :-) i can come to ur
flat this

afternoon after work, its very close 2 my work. enjoy the rest of ur day.
mwa!

Chané, who had moved into a boarding house, made up a white lie to her
landlady, known as Tannie Magda, saying she was going to visit a
colleague,

Amelia, while actually going to see Maartens. When she arrived back
home,

she again texted Maartens:

Chané: Hey u, thanks 4 a great evening. u r amazing :-) i miss u already. u

must

enjoy the rest of ur evening. sweet dreams, c u in dreamland. mwa

7 December 2010

In an SMS, Chané confessed to Tannie Magda that she had met someone.

Magda was one of the first people to learn of Chané’s romantic relationship

with Maartens.

Chané: Actually ive known him for long, but i havent seen him in a while.
he is also

an artist, so we understand each other quite a lot and he has a great

personality, coz

he’s very nice. i kno i said i was going 2 stay single, but he is not just
another guy,

he is quite special.

Tannie Magda: I am so happy for you. Still, take it slow I know how it is
when

falling in love! Invite him over this Sat if you want. We will chat again.
Have a nice
day. Lovies you. And remember you are very special.

Chané assured Tannie Magda she should not be worried. But it was also on

this day that Chané, who had previously saved Maartens’ name on her
phone

only as ‘Maartens’, changed his contact name to ‘My Dark Prince’.

For reasons unknown, she told him she had a few things to do that evening.

My Dark Prince: Hey my goddess, u dont have to explain 2 me if u want

some alone

time 2 urself. im also like that sometimes =) u r more than the best. im
crazy abt u!!

Chané: Hey u, it’s just that i thought of spending the evening with Tannie
Magda,

coz i havent seen her all week, but thanks, it’s quite nice that we are both
like that,

so u must also tell me when u need alone time. im thinking a lot abt u my
dark

prince. Njoy ur day. mwa mwa My Dark Prince: Lol the problem is that i
want 2 c u

the whole day. i miss u so much :-)

8 December 2010

Tania was probably the first family member whom Chané told about

Maartens, and that he was her new boyfriend.

Chané: Hey mamie, i have news. lol. i have a new boyfriend. his name is
Maartens,

he is very nice and wants to meet u and dad. am i still sleeping over tonite?
Can i

bring him along?

Chané [to Maartens]: Hey :-) im sleeping at my dad’s tonite. if u want u can
meet

them tonite when they r back.

My Dark Prince: Hiya u! Yip sounds good. send me address and time and
im there

goddess. njoy the rest of ur day ;-) Mwa

My Dark Prince [some while later]: Hi hi, ummm must i still come tonite or
another

time? hope ur day was interesting and fun … missing u insanely XxX

Later, Chané let him know that something had come up.

My Dark Prince: That’s okay. maybe its a bad time 4 u at the moment. i
really want

2 meet them, but mayb then later. Sounds like u r stressing about it and i
dont want

to upset u. i REALLY want 2 c u again feels like ages that we last saw each
other.

sorry if i bothered. njoy ur evening Goddess xx

Chané consoled Maartens and apologised for having changed the plan. She
explained that her dad was going on a business trip the next day and that he

had asked her stepmother to go with him.

My Dark Prince: Hehe, its fine, even if we were siamese minds i’d still
want to get

lost in you. We’ll make it another nite then when ur dads back. I hope that i
will

atleast c u tomoro then please!! i can meet u after work and we can go
watch a

movie at the metro if u want?

Chané responded by saying she’d go crazy if she had to live in her parents’

house. Her father had requested that she clean his koi fish pond while he
and

Tania were away and she revealed that she had a phobia about dirty water
…

A movie would be great, she texted Maartens.

10 December 2010

On this day, Chané sent ‘Jacques Cute’, who still sometimes contacted her
to

go out, a final text message. In it, she stated that she didn’t know whether
he

had seen it on Facebook, but she was now in a relationship with Maartens.

So, if they saw each other again, Maartens would be coming along.

Chané had been planning a trip to Knysna, to spend Christmas with her
older sister Liezel and her boyfriend, who had recently moved there. Chané

had felt terribly alone since they left Welkom. While exchanging phone
calls

and text messages about the impending trip, Chané told Liezel about

Maartens.

17 December 2010

My Dark Prince: Hey Goddess, sorry i totally sucked with your parents, but
i think it

takes me a bit of time to get comfortable infront of someone. I hope they

don’t think

im an idiot. Sleep tight. hope 2 c u tomoro XxX

Chané: Lol, actually you did very well, my dad luvs u :-) thank you My
Dark Prince:

Thanx. Let sweet intoxicating sleep carry you to our world, you’ll find me
at the

gates, the one with veiled wings and no eyes, you’ll recognise the smile …
Mwa

18 December 2010

The thought of going to visit her sister and leaving Maartens behind had

become too much for Chané to bear. In text messages, Chané asked her
sister

whether she could bring her boyfriend with her. She told Liezel that she

thought Maartens and Liezel’s boyfriend, Werner, would get on like a house
on fire. She also told Liezel that she was very serious about Maartens, and

that he was, like her, an artist. But taking Maartens on the trip with her
didn’t

seem likely, as Chané would be getting a lift with Werner’s parents, who

lived in Welkom.

Chané chose to spend as much time as possible with Maartens before her

trip to the beautiful seaside town of Knysna. While she was excited about
the

trip, Maartens was growing uneasy and increasingly anxious about her

departure. Their text messages, which until then had been predominantly in

their home language of Afrikaans, slowly switched to mainly English,

almost

as if they were moving away from who they had once been towards who
they

were becoming when they were together …

12

The cemetery

Within a month of the start of Chané and Maartens’ relationship, they

planned the first of many unique rites that were meant to bind them together

– a night out in the Welkom cemetery, to promise each other eternal love.

The cemetery had become a central theme in the music they listened to, the
literature they read and the movies they watched together.

Days before she would leave for Knysna, Chané and Maartens swore their

undying love to each other in the first of many bizarre rituals they would

perform. That night, Roy joined them at the graveyard. He still disliked

Chané, but he had to acknowledge that Maartens was happier than ever; the

most elated Roy had ever seen him.

For Roy, the trip to the cemetery was a bit of innocent fun, a new, albeit

awkward, experience. He did it so that he could spend a bit of time with his

best friend, who these days only had time for his new girlfriend. Roy did
not

read anything into the couple’s desire to visit the cemetery and assumed
they

thought it would be bit of a thrill to be out there alone at night.

But Roy was wrong about Maartens’ and Chané’s motives for going there.

For them, it meant much, much more … It was a spiritual bonding

experience

and, unbeknown to him, Roy was to be their witness. Maartens had brought

rings for himself and Chané, which they would exchange during the special

ritual.

On their arrival at the cemetery, Chané played photographer, taking photos

of the three of them, of the trees, of the graves. After a while, Roy’s
incessant

talking started to annoy the couple, but they tried to ignore it as they

engrossed themselves in the experience of being out at night under the full

moon. As they clung to each other and shared inside jokes, Roy began
feeling

a bit extraneous. As the clock ticked away, he grew increasingly nervous

about the creepy environment in which he found himself.

Maartens seemed to be drawn to a dark area among the trees on the

perimeter of the cemetery, but Roy and Chané were not keen to join him

there. Maartens stayed away for a while. He later alleged that he could not

remember what had happened to him that night while he was among the

trees. When he returned, he found Chané writhing on the ground, seemingly

in a trance, but with her eyes wide open and occasionally giggling. Roy,
now

properly freaked out, walked away, but Maartens stayed with Chané, calling

her name from time to time. He got no response, but he wanted to be there
for

her during this experience. He stayed close to her, without touching or

holding her, as she made it clear that she wanted to be left alone. When she

eventually came to, she was unable to express what had happened to her.
She did tell Maartens that as he had walked towards the trees, she had seen

a dark form following him into the shadows. Later on, standing among the

graves, Maartens and Chané exchanged the rings, promising their undying

love to one another. From then on, the graveyard would play a key role in

their relationship.

Chané and Maartens were never interested in joining a cult. They did not

want to conform to the norms of others. They wanted to create something

unique for just the two of them.

En route to the Cape for her holiday, Chané reassured Maartens again of her

eternal love.

Chané: I love u my Dark Prince. u are a part of my heart, my soul and u are
on my

mind every second, we are as one and nothing and no one will ever come
between

us.

Two days before Christmas 2010

Chané: Good morning my dark prince, hope u slept well, i had the most
peaceful

sleep ever, i had a dream about our night at the cemetary and our binding
rituals.

My Dark Prince: Ah my beloved, I slept well indeed. I’ll never forget that
night and
soon we’ll have more magical evenings there. The serpents on our rings
whisper our

names in unison so that lulls my longing for you enough to get by every
day. Have a

sweet loving mystcal day my queen, I love you. Mwa.

Chané: I have your name my love, i’ll tell you what it is on Xmas eve xxx

My Dark Prince: Aww, my love, I can’t wait 2 find out what it is :-) im still

struggling with a name for u, but i’ll have one on x-mas, promise. i miss u
more than

words can express.

Christmas Eve 2010

Chané: I hope ur enjoying xmas eve my love, wish i could be there with u. i
miss

and love u. mwa

My Dark Prince: Miss u 2 my queen, everyone here already opened up their

presents, all smiles and stuff. Having coffee and cigarette now, thinking of
you.

Calling you in a while xx

Christmas Day 2010

Chané: Hey Dex, i hope u had a great journey into dreamland- where i will
wait for

u my dark prince so we can hold each other until our [SMS ends]
My Dark Prince: Hey Loom today was the worst without you, I just had to
cut. I

wish with all that I am or ever was to just vanish into our world for all
eternity,

unchained with all in this world that binds us.

Chané: My dear Dex, one day we will fade into our world for all of time
holding

hands, together forever and truely happy, but till then we will have to suffer
…

From here on, Maartens’ number is no longer saved on Chané’s phone as

‘My Dark Prince’, but as ‘Dexter’.

28 December 2010

Chané: My dearest Dex, i miss u so much. i wish we were together, i know

we could

deal with everything and anything if we were together. I feel so negative. I

hate not

being in our world.

Dexter: I can’t stand being apart from you, that portrait speaks to me as if
you

created a portal to our world and that memory of you is calling out to my
skin. I love

you in every way imaginable and unimagined my Loomin xx

New Year’s Day 2011

Chané’s mother, Charmaine, who had been living in New Zealand since

2005, sent her daughter one of the first texts of the New Year.

+64212117***: Happy new year my baby. Love u lots like jelly tots.

Chané did not reply. Instead, she departed Knysna, feeling sad that she had
to

leave her sister behind, but also greatly anticipating being reunited with her

‘Dexter’.

Liezel: Hi apie, you don’t hav to reply, i just want to tell u that i love u and
that u ar

the best baby sista ever made. if u land back in Welkom u must show that
man of

yours a good time ;-) you must sleep tight. Love u!

Back in Welkom, it was becoming increasingly more frustrating for Chané

and Maartens to see so little of each other. Chané got a lift to work with her

boss, Louis, every morning, while Maartens made his own way to the

workshop where he worked with his father.

Francois van der Merwe, who has a business in the steelworks industry,

was impressed with how dedicated his son was to his carpentry work. While

Maartens had always been reserved, a loner, Francois could see that he was

thriving now. He was visibly in love and even seemed happy. Although

Maartens still kept to himself, his mood had lifted. He had been living with
his friend Roy for a few months, and now he had met a girl he seriously

liked. When Maartens was living at home, he was always in the house and

did not have any friends. Francois knew that his son craved acceptance, but

whenever he had a girl and she found out about his mental history, she
would

walk out on him.

When Chané and Maartens were together, they’d spend hours talking,

listening to music or reading. Or they’d watch Dexter, an American series

about a forensic blood-spatter analyst who moonlights as a vigilante serial

killer secretly hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks
of

the justice system.19 This was also where Chané and Maartens found their

inspiration for each other’s pet names. They were particularly fascinated
with

the season in which Dexter Morgan meets Lumen Pierce, and they watched
it

over and over again on Maartens’ laptop.

Using their so-called Dark Passengers, Dexter and Lumen team up to hunt

down all the men who had raped and tortured her. In the process, the two

become so close that Dexter considers her his partner by the end of the

season. The Dark Passenger is the supposed demon inside all murderers that
drives them to do terrible things. It is also the ‘darkness’ and instability in

each person’s personality that can either control them or be contained.

Lumen

and Dexter’s Dark Passengers, the dark sides of their personalities, also
draw

them closer to one another.

But while Dexter’s Dark Passenger was his metaphorical desire to kill, he

unleashed it only on those who were guilty.20 Early on in their intense

relationship, Chané and Maartens had admitted to each other that they had

fantasies about killing. Maartens’ fantasies were about the murder itself,

while Chané’s were about the skinning and stitching of human skin.

Confiding their darkest secrets to one another lent credence to a behaviour

that would never have been socially acceptable in the outside world.

3 January 2011

Dexter: Hey there Goddess, hope you are tolerating work today my love. I
won’t be

able to see you lunchtime but there is always tomorrow and the days after. I
have an

idea, but I’ll share it later when we are together again.… Xxx

Chané: Work’s not 2 bad thanx love :-) now im curious can’t wait 2 hear ur
idea and

cant wait to c u again. enjoy ur day. mwa xxx

Chané: Hey Dex, my dad asked me not to visit tonight, coz my stepmom’s
in a bad

mood. so will it be ok if i stay by ur flat until it stops raining.

Chané and Liezel were in regular communication while the latter and her

partner were planning their move to New Zealand, but Chané was also

increasingly withdrawing into her bubble with Maartens. The two of them

shared their dreams, smoked cannabis, watched their shows, and planned
and

executed their own unique bloody bonding rituals of self-mutilation, some

of

which Chané captured on her cellphone.

10 January 2011

Chané: Hey Dex, thank u for the great weekend, i can not stop thinking abt
it, it was

so beautiful, i will always remember our moment …

17 January 2011

Dexter: Morning dear Lumen, I apologise for having to leave work so fast a
while

ago. Today we start planning our escape from the wretched, sad old life. We
shall

have new lives, these pathetic humans will kneel and tremble before us,
blood will
stain our path and we can be happy, finally we can be FREE. I wish you
strength for

today my love, have hope, we are close to snapping these chains that bind
us- xxx

Dex

Chané: My Dearest Dexter, I have waited eternities for that moment, where
the past

kills itself only to spawn a new demented future in which we can be

ourselves.

Towards the end of January, while Chané’s and Maartens’ messages had

taken on a whole new dimension, Chané’s texts to her father were on an

entirely different wavelength. These were of the banal, abhorrent reality

with

which she had become so bored, a reality in which she had to be the
smiling,

perfect daughter, colleague, employee and tenant.

Chané: Hey papa, is it okay if i rather come visit in the week, then I will
also sleep

over for a few days, if it’s okay, i must go see some other people about a flat
today,

then I’m goingto Bible Study with them and eat out to talk about the flat,
and then I

also want to go to town to do a few things for myself. so today is just going
to be
crazy. let me know. lovies nya

Liezel: Hey my sista. Hope all is good. Miss u lots. Can’t wait to see you.
Sleep

well. Lovies you lots.

31 January 2011

Dexter: My entire life was filled with a deep emptiness. A dark hopeless
cold I

could never fill. Then I met someone who fitted into me like a hand in a
glove,

leaving no fingerprints but the loving gashes in our skin. A deep

understanding and

acceptance that transcended my dreams. For the first time I can say
something

without having to put a mask around it. I can say it without putting it to
word for it

has benn carved into my heart all along, since the day I was born- I love
you my

Lumen. We are immortal for we share the key to that gift.… imagination.
No-one

can kill that, no-one can harm that which has no form, it makes us eternal.
We have

the power to create worlds, worlds where we cannot be touched by the vile
hands of

these fake, corrupted people. The power to re-create ourselves. One day we
shall be
released from mortal coil and return to our kingdom to rule in our
neverending

fantastical dark paradise, to do as we please, side by side. Until then we

have each

other in this world and the promises of dark delight to inflict upon the
unwary souls

which dwell among us. Together as God and Goddess. Snakes intertwined.
Free as

ourselvessssssssssssss. Xxx

Chané: My Dearest Dexter, i have waited for eternities for someone to share
myself

with, my deepest secrets and desires. it was fate that brought us here.

Chané: Hey susa, all is good thank u, i also miss u alot … how are things
with the

apie in your tummy, u must let me know if it’s a boy or girl once u kno :-)

Chané: Hey Louis, I’m going to be staying with my dad this week, if u can
please

pick me up at the lighthouse in the mornings pls. See you tomorrow again.
Hope you

have a good evening. Chané.

Chané: Goodnight my love, i’ll meet u in our dark palace. sweet dreams
Dex. i love

u. mwa

1 February 2011
Dexter: Good morning my Black Swan, is it okay if i swing by your work
today to

drop off your bag!? I made a couple of sketches for a possible religious sign
I also

want you to see and modify to your pleasing if you wish. I miss you xx

Chané: I would love that Dex, i miss u so much allready. my lunch is at 1. c

u then.

can’t wait to c the sketches. mwa

Dexter: Hey Loom, just me reminding you that Jesus loves you so Dex
warned him

to stop sending you creepy messages like that and tried to stalk the son of
God but

couldnt track him down because he couldn’t find the little creep so he spent
the

evening pondering a new concept he decided to call the ‘Jesus inbox

Paradox’ which

didn’t bring him any closer to the answer of life, the universe and
everything so he

just went to bed sad, unfulfilled and confused again (yep couldn’t sleep so i
hope

you get this message tomorrow morning and didnt wake you up my love
coz then it

would be God’s fault :) Goodnite my queen xx

2 February 2011. Two months before the murder

Chané: Hey Dex thank u for tonight, i loved seeing u again. im sorry for not
giving u

a kiss, i really wanted 2, but we didnt really have time to ourselves, i cant
wait 4 this

weekend, now we’ll hav the entire house to ourselves. i hope u have a great
night

filled with dreams of our world, our reality. i will join u there my love.
sweet

dreams. mwa. Lumen.

Dexter: Thanks for inviting me Lumen, it was great to see you too. I can
handle the

most intense violence, fear and bloodshed in reality but the experience of
sitting

down and confronting the parents of the woman I love more than eternity
can reach

on the subject of my validity in our relationship rattled me. I hope I was

okay and

looked normal. Actually having the house for ourselves is perfect, a little

Piscean/Cancerean luck there. See you soon and this weekend there will be
a new

experience introduced, one we discuss all the time that involves a victim
and death,

not you or me though but finally we can make it happen. Sweet screams my
Lumen

Xxx
3 February 2011

Chané: Good morning my Dark & twisted love. i only received ur last msg
this

morning. u were great last night and my parents like and respect u alot, so u
have

nothing to worry abt, nothing will ever come between us. we hav so much
luck, its

like it was meant 2 be a sign that this weekend should be our first. i don;t
know who

u have planned, but i can’t wait to descuss and plan it all with u, we have
waited so

long for this day, and now we finally get to do what we hav fantasized
about. i can’t

wait. I love u Dexter, more than words can express. enjoy ur day my love,
ur always

on my mind. love ur goddess. Lumen

Dexter: Goddess you would not believe the ritual I have planned and the
stuff I got

for this weekend, it’s going to be surreal. Can i ask you to please bring
along ur

cuffs, any candles you have left and another thing which may sound a little
akward,

white or any light coloured leg stockings? Lol I have everything else lined
up but its
okay if you can’t bring those things, its not major :) cant wait to see you
again my

love, I got us something special ;) see you soon my netherwarp queen, love
you Xx

Dex

Chané: Lol I cant wait to see what u have planned Dex:-) sound intresting.
i’ll bring

everything you asked 4 my love. i need to see u. time’s going by so slowly.

wish

today was friday. i love u dexter. enjoy ur day. see u tomorrow. mwa.

Chané: Hey Dex, i’ve got horrible news, my parents aren’t going anymore
:-( so

dissapointed.

Dexter: Sorry Lumen, only got your message now. Its okay, this changes
our plans a

bit but don’t worry ill think of something ;-) sleep tight my queen, love u

Chané: No prob … we might still hav the house, i’ll talk 2 u 2moro. sweet
dreams

Dex.

4 February 2011

Chané: Hey Dex, my parents are leaving tomorrow morning at 6 :-P do u

have plans

4 tonight coz they want me 2 sleep at the house tonight, and said that u can
sleepover, but if u have plans i can visit u and just go home later. i miss u so
much.

mwa. hope u have a great day.

6 February 2011

Chané: Hey papa, what time will papa and mamie be back? i just want to
know so i

can wash the dishes and clean everything before u get back.

Dad: Anytime from about 3. Lovies. All still OK there

Chané: OK dad, will c u then, everything’s still fine here, all the animals are
still

happy and hyper :-) enjoy papa’s day. Lovies

Chané: Hey papa, I am here at Maartens’ dad’s place with him, everything
still fine

at home, just SMS me when you are near Welkom then we will meet u back
at

home. lovies nya

It is clear that by now Chané and Maartens had made plans to pounce on
their

first victim. They drove around Welkom in search of their prey, but this

operation proved more difficult than they’d anticipated, and they returned

home without success.

Later that night

Dexter: My love … this emptiness, this irritation, unsatisfaction with not
having our

dark desires fulfilled is making me lose my mind. If we do not have

someone ready

by this weekend we shall go hunting and blood will flow from a lifeless
body before

the next Moonday arrives. I hope your dark passenger is ready for it will be
feeding

soon, make it strong and willing my love. I have a wish … to visit the
houses of all

the weak and controlling people Ive known on one starless night and
murder them

all, then to drive into the blackened horizon with you by my side, finally
killing the

pathetic old ideas of what they wanted us to be … Strength be with you my

Goddess, I’m designing how our winter-palace will look like in our world.
Think of

a name for our place if you can. I love you Lady Bathory Blackmore- Xx
Lord

Asher the Godwulf

7 February 2011

Chané: Dearest Lord Asher, i will devote this week to finding someone
upon which

we can release our darkness. i cannot wait 2 share that moment with you.
8 February 2011

Chané: Dearest Lord Asher, i hope u slept well. i thought of a name for our
world,

but as you allready know, im not too great with names, so feel free to add
onto it or

change it. well i thought of ‘ashmore’ or ‘Ashmore Valley’ i dont know it

sounds

more mysterious when u add valley 2 it. enjoy ur day My love. lady
blackmore xxx

Dexter: Lady Blackmore, that name is perfect ‘Ashmore valley’ or the

‘Ashmore

Veil’ sounds great. Hope your evening was pleasant my love and enjoy day
as well.

I miss you. Xx Lord Asher

Chané: Im glad u like it my love. i miss u so much, i cant wait to see u

again. mwa

xxx

Chané: Lol:-) Dare we turning to canabalism now my love, ur the one needs
to

worry, i might just eat u up b4 u can get me ;-P miss u so much, this week
has been

hell without u. i cant wait 2 c u 2nite. i love u lord Asher. mwaxxx ur Lady

Blackmore

10 February 2011
Dexter: Hey my Queen im waiting for u at Game, c u sewn xx ur Asher

Dexter: Oh my crack!! just remembered Spongebob’s got a yellow ass so

when

people get holy healing we can play a recording of his laughter! Goodnite
my

Goddess Xx

Chané: LMGA :-D this is the most fun ive had discussing religion ever ;-P
im gona

start drawing him tonite my love and hav sum fun. i love you so much, that
it might

get 2 much 2 handle and i might just explode from the overwhelming
amount of

love ur causing me 2 feel, but dnt worry if that happens ill still haunt u and i
might

even possess sum 1 2 kill u so we can be together again lol, sorry im losing
myself

again ;-) but i really love u a lot :-* mwa cant wait 2 c u

12 February 2011

Chané: Hey susa, happy happy bday. I hope u hav the awesomemest day
ever. i

hope u get spoilt rotten and u get lots of candles and stuff :-P lovies u lots.
mwa. nya

In the days that followed, Chané’s dad arranged a weekend away and asked
Chané and Maartens to join him and his wife on a fishing trip. Tannie
Magda

gave Chané a lot of relationship advice during this time. She did not want
the

young girl to get hurt.

During this period, Dr Wiaan Meintjies of the Free State Psychiatric

Complex (FSPC) in Bloemfontein invited Maartens to visit the institution.

Maartens was diagnosed as a schizophrenic as a teenager and had been

treated by numerous psychiatrists over the years. Dr Meintjies had started

treating Maartens when he was 17, and Meintjies was still at the children’s

unit as part of a multidisciplinary team. Once Maartens turned 18, Meintjies

began seeing him as an outpatient.

In mid-February, Maartens, now almost 24 years old, arrived in

Bloemfontein with Chané at his side. Over the years, while Dr Meintjies
was

treating Maartens, he noted that the young man had three urgent concerns:
his

lack of concentration, his weight and his desire to have a girlfriend.

Meintjies

had come to know Maartens as a lonely guy who really wanted a partner.

And here he was. Sorted and off his medication.

Meintjies did not make a formal evaluation, but Maartens seemed to be in

a normal and stable state of mind. In fact, the half an hour the doctor spent

with the couple went by quite pleasantly. Meintjies used the opportunity to

invite Maartens to become part of a new support group for schizophrenic

patients in remission. He viewed Maartens as a success story. Here was

Maartens, excited about life, holding down a decent job and with a steady

girlfriend. He said he felt a lot better, and to Meintjies it looked as if the

young man had gained some direction in life.

Meintjies had never known Maartens to be a satanist or to be involved in

the occult. Rather, he had always been interested in the esoteric New Age

movement and had been on a spiritual path, dabbling in various religions.

Later that same month, however, Tilla du Preez from the Northern Free

State Mental Health Society in Welkom bumped into Maartens at a social

function at the Naudéville Primary School, where his mother worked. Since

2006, she had seen Maartens as a member of a support group that met every

Wednesday. Du Preez found Maartens to be good-tempered, spontaneous,

loving and empathetic, with a lot of patience towards other group members.

He was never aggressive or difficult during activities or towards others in

the

group.

But since October 2010, Du Preez had had no contact with him, when
Maartens indicated that he would no longer be taking his medication. She

discussed the dangers with him and his father, but then Maartens seemed

better and more motivated once he’d stopped. On this evening, however, it

was a different Maartens she encountered. He was smoking and consuming

alcohol, which he’d never done while still attending the support group. He

seemed cold when he greeted her and was not as sincere and spontaneous as

she knew him to be.

And suddenly he also did not seem to mind discussing his mental episodes

on Facebook, sharing his visions of dogs that wanted to attack him and

hordes of spiders crawling at the bottom of a swimming pool …

17 February 2011

Chané: Im bored so I wrote sumthing that reminds me of a nursery rhyme

… I once

knew a lonely man indeed, he slit his wrists, took some pills & shot off his
head, the

afterlife he came upon, tranquil and sound, only 2 find that loneliness
followed him

into the ground. Eternities went by, or so it seemed, before he stared out his
little

window in his lonely little house, and found another lonely soul- forgotten
and lost,
together they sat- not speaking a word, two sould lost forever damned- but
lonely no

more :-)

Dexter: OMG you are amazing Lady Blackmore!! That was one of the most

beautiful and symbolic poems I ever read. Are you real? Sometimes I still
can’t

believe you are xxxxx

Chané: Lol, thank u Lord Asher :-) I dont know if Im real or not, but i hope
so, coz

if im not real then ur not real, and then life would just not be worth living.
lol.enjoy

ur day my love. mwa xxx

Chané: Dearest Lord Asher, my heart darkens at the thought that u had to
spend

most of ur life in that place, and it dies even more to think that people judge
u

Dexter: My dearest loveliest Lady Blackmore thank you for loving me and
not

judging like all these foul plastic puppets. My soul, my mind and most of
all my

heart is yours for all of dark eternity. I will love you even when the universe
screams

apart … I will be by your side. Words fail but bloodsoul serpents do not
falter. Our
hearts are coiled, our hands are ready, let our dark arts flourish in this dying
sunlight

xxx your Lord Asher.

Chané: Good night my love, im off to ashmore. I hope ur having a fun time.
i love u

and miss u already. you dont hav to reply coz i kno ur probably a bit high
by now :-)

i just wanted to say goodnite. mwa, hav fun. lady blackmore xxx

Dexter: Lol not quite high enough not to reply my love. i miss u intensely.
goodnite

love u xxx

19 February 2011

Dexter: Good morning my goddess, I had the worst night ever but ive
recovered

now and on my way to work. Hope u had a better evening. Enjoy your day
Ill see

you at 5 lovely Lady Blackmore xx you Lord Asher.

Chané: Good morning my Lord. im sorry that u had a bad night. u can tell
me all abt

it tonight, my night wasnt great either, didnt get to do anything i wanted 2

do coz i

had to watch dvd with the ‘family’. i cant wait to see u my love, i hope you
have a

great day xxx lady Blackmore

Chané: My dearest lord Asher, tonight ur flame will burn once again, giving
life to

my soul. i cannot wait for our bodies to meet, i long for ur sweet kiss and
the

security of ur arms around me enjoy the rest of ur day my love. urs always
Lady

Blackmore

20 February 2011

Chané: Another day lost to the persona of perfection that i must be, just
another fake

smile and the illusion of a happier me. i have perfected the art of lies. i am
as fake as

society needs me to be, but still my heart beats, the mere thought of ur
presence

brings life to my dead and broken body, u are the only happiness i know,
and even

though i sometimes seem lost, even to u, know that it is just the pressure of
this

place resting on my soul, and that i will always love u. once we are bound
by this

place nomore, we can reign in Ashmore, God and Goddess, bound, yet free
xxx cant

wait to be in ur arms again … Lady Blackmore

Dexter: My dearest Lady Blackmore ur absence is the missing flame that is

my
being. Without it im nothing more than ash thrown about by the feeble
concepts of

this society. My fire dies as a another forced smile paints my face. Waiting
to feel

your skin against mine, your hair across my shoulders and your breath
feeding life

into my burning soul, rekindling the flame that will one day burn all. That
day

comes as ours leave and we can reign finally in a place free of all.

22 February 2011

Charmaine phoned her daughter regularly from New Zealand and had
already

begun planning a visit in March as part of Liezel and Werner’s move from

Knysna to New Zealand. Charmaine always sent her love to Chané at the
end

of her texts. Whether Chané truly felt her mother’s love, though, is
debatable.

+64212117***: Hi Sus, there was an earthquake here in NZ, but wasn’t

near us.

Will phone you tonight. Love u.

That evening, Chané texted Tannie Magda:

Chané: Hey tanie magda, im going with maartens tonite to bible study, so i
will only

b home a bit later. enjoy tanie’s evening. see later. lovies Chané.
Later, she replied to her mother:

Chané: Hey mama, im at bible study, wil sms mama when im done. lovies.

She then realised after Bible study that she had sent the text to the wrong

number.

Chané: Hey mama, i let u kno that im going to b at bible study but i sent the
text to

the wrong number. sorry. mama can phone now if u want. lovies.

For the rest of the month, Chané worked hard, but she fell ill on 25
February

and her dad took her to the doctor. Finances were always a concern, and

Chané informed Jacques of the cost: R220. While on 28 February she was

still feeling sick, she was not deterred from participating in the ritual she
and

Maartens had planned – one of the many self-created rituals to break the

boredom, to break free from their ‘banal existence’.

At midday, she texted her boss.

Chané: Hey Louis, these pills that im drinking are making me very
nauseous and

tired. can i pls go home at 4?

Chané: Hey Dex, my dad’s gona pick me up at 4, so u dont hav to walk with
me
today, im just gona take a nap coz i feel sick and tired, and then i’ll phone u
2

arrange everything for tonite. hope ur having a good day sofar. see u later.
mwa. xxx

13

Making fantasy a reality

A month before the murder, at the beginning of March 2011, Chané and

Maartens moved into their own private garden flat in Unicor Street. Life
was

bliss. They had their own separate entrance and could come and go as they

pleased. Maartens was absorbed in his new life, the falling out he’d had
with

Roy forgotten. The couple trusted each other absolutely. In the privacy of

their own home they could self-mutilate, cut and burn themselves, and each

other, to their hearts’ content. The more they opened up to each other, the

more intimate their bond became. In their flat they could live out their

fantasies without feeling guilty and talk about them as if they were

commonplace.

They became an outlet for each other. Both of them had found a partner

who did not judge; a partner who made the other feel that their behaviour
was

normal. Because they accepted each other unconditionally, they could share
their fantasies of killing and skinning openly. And, as they did so, they

became increasingly desensitised to their own desires and behaviour.

Chané and Maartens still enjoyed watching Dexter together – after all, here

was a series on national television portraying the very deeds about which

they were fantasising.

Still, they knew that their fantasies would not go down well in the outside

world. So they kept to themselves, and sharing this secret bonded them
even

further. As neither found the other’s behaviour unacceptable, or odd, or

even

abhorrent, it would eventually allow them to take their desires one step

further … For the first time they felt accepted, even if it was just by each

other. Alone in their little world, they created a religion of their own,
though

they continued to study occult material.

Neighbours Piet Botha and his wife, Tammy, thought the couple very odd.

Maartens and Chané had only lived in the flat a short time, but they were

very withdrawn. 21 Botha would say a friendly hello if he bumped into

them,

but they never returned his greeting.

The pair continued their sexual cutting rituals. Chané had an insatiable
desire to skin, but she did not want to hurt Maartens. At some point, they

allegedly even considered killing and skinning Roy.

In the interim they bought two kittens from a pet shop to kill and skin.

They decided that both of them would kill and both would skin, although it

was Maartens’ fantasy to kill and Chané’s to skin. They thought that, this

way, they would learn more about each other’s fantasies, which would bring

them even closer to each other.

Chané cut one of the cat’s heads off quickly. She wanted it over as soon as

possible. But Maartens was frantically stabbing and stabbing at the other
cat.

Although it was terrible for her to see with how much violence he was

stabbing the cat, and the cat’s noises bothered her, she decided not to say

anything. This was his moment and she did not want to spoil it for him.

Afterwards, they did feel much closer to each other.

Then Maartens suggested that they kill something bigger. A cat didn’t hold

a challenge for him any longer. They thought of buying dogs to kill, but

instead came to the decision that would change, and destroy, so many lives:

they decided to kill a human being.

About a week before they could put their plan into action, the owners of

the house, Christo Ross and his wife, Beatrix, moved in. Maartens had been
attending the same Bible study group as his landlord at the Dutch Reformed

Church. Christo considered Maartens to be a quiet but friendly young man

who sometimes contributed something to the sessions. Chané would

occasionally join him, but she never said anything.

Dexter: Hey goddess, hope ur feeln better. Im just waitn around for Christo
2 call

coz evryting’s packd on my side alredy.May th yello assd 1 shit u wit

blessins 2day

my luv

3 March 2011

Chané and Maartens engrossed themselves in their world. As they were

now

seeing each other every day, their texting became less frequent and was

mainly limited to checking in on each other during the day.

On the first weekend of March they went away with Chané’s parents on a

fishing expedition as planned. It was an exceptionally stressful time for

Maartens, as he was still trying to impress the father of the woman he

loved.

Although quiet and awkward, he tried to do all the right things at the right

times to show that he would be a good son-in-law. In the meantime,

Chané’s

sister Liezel and her partner, Werner, planned a final visit to Welkom before
leaving South Africa.

Liezel: Hi susa. Hope all is still well. We are planning to leave early
Sunday, mom

wants to sleep over a night or 2 in Bloemfontein coz Werner wants to bid

his brother

and aunt farewell, but will let u know when we’re in Welkom. U must hav a
nice

day further. Lovies.

Once Liezel and Werner arrived, they mostly saw Chané after work, at

Jacques’ place. Liezel also met Maartens for the first time. She thought he

was wonderful. Her first impressions were that Chané and Maartens made a

great couple. She thought Maartens was a quiet person with a good sense of

humour. He looked her in the eye when he spoke to her, had good manners

and showed respect for others.

As something of a guardian to Chané, Liezel could see that her sister was

very happy. She did not suspect a thing, not even when Chané needed some

‘alone’ time during her final visit to Welkom.

11 March 2011

Liezel: Hi apie. Hope u had a nice day. Just wanted 2 hear if u still want us
to come

by, otherwise if u still want some alone time it won’t bother me, then we’ll
see each
other tomorow at dad’s. Lovies u lots

Chané’s mother, Charmaine, also did not see much of her younger daughter

during her rare visit to South Africa to help Liezel with her immigration

arrangements.

+64212117***: Hi Sus, hope u r OK, I’m thinking about you a lot. Love
you.

20 March 2011

Liezel left South Africa without the slightest suspicion that something was

brewing. She let her sister know once she and Werner were safe and sound

and settled in New Zealand. But Chané was anything but happy. She was in

turmoil and devastated that her sister had moved away.

A week before the murder, Liezel texted her from New Zealand.

+64220388***: Hi susi. This is my new number. Hope all is still good.

Things are

still good this side. Werner has at least got his learners’ license. We are
missing you

to death! Hi to all. Lovies u lots.

Apart from sporadic SMSes to Tannie Magda or her boss, Louis, Chané

hardly sent any texts at this time. It all went quiet.

Two days before the murder

Chané met Michael van Eck on 2Go. They communicated for hours on end,
sending flirty messages – messages that were only ever shared between
them.

Chané was carefully crafting the ritual she and Maartens would carry out in

the Welkom cemetery, the place where they had promised each other eternal

love and utter dedication.

The fact that the venue was isolated and quiet was of additional value, but

not the main reason they chose it. The couple believed that if they killed
their

victim in the graveyard, it would ensure that the person’s soul would go to

Ashmore, the spirit world they had created for their afterlives. The
graveyard

had assumed a special spiritual significance as the scene of their activities.

As their plan threatened to evolve into reality, the couple had to embolden

each other. When Maartens doubted whether they should go through with it,

Chané reassured him. At other times, she wavered and he reassured her.

The day before the murder

No texts were sent from Chané’s cellphone. She only chatted with Michael

on 2Go.

The day of the murder

Late morning on Saturday 2 April, Chané finalised her arrangement to meet

Michael at 9 p.m. at the Welkom cemetery. She had succeeded in luring her
victim to his fate. While Maartens was still at work, Chané made a list and

carefully gathered everything they’d need.

When Maartens got home, everything was ready. The couple stopped off to

visit Christo Ross and his wife, where they had coffee together for about 20

minutes. Ross and his wife did not notice any questionable or abnormal

behaviour. They trusted the couple, who kept the flat clean and tidy.

Soon after, Maartens and Chané picked up their backpacks and walked the

less than 15 kilometres to the cemetery on foot. Once they got there, Chané

spread out a sheet on the grass in front of the chapel. When Michael texted

that he was leaving his home, they prepared for action. Chané sent two texts

that day. Both were directed to a contact on her phone saved only as ‘Mike’.

At 20:15:

Chané: Hey you, yes i also can’t wait. mwa. sms me when you’re there. see
u later.

cant wait xxx

And again at 20:40:

Chané: Hey you, go onto 2Go quickly pls. mwa

Her phone was not switched on again until Monday 4 April.

In the period leading up to the trial, the Facebook group ‘In loving memory

of Michael van Eck’, created by his family, gained an enormous following,

with thousands from around the globe leaving messages of support for the

bereaved Van Ecks. Henriëtte often took to this platform to vent the hatred

she felt for the accused, wishing them eternal damnation. But she and her

family felt isolated in their pain. Family occasions were no longer

enjoyable,

and Henriëtte’s hatred and need for revenge just intensified.

After their initial court appearance, Maartens made a solitary and brief

return to the Welkom magistrate’s court on 19 April, where the state

requested that he be sent for psychiatric evaluation. The magistrate ruled

that

Maartens would undergo evaluation over a period of 30 days by a team of

doctors from the FSPC, where he had undergone treatment in high school.

By then it had become known that he was a diagnosed schizophrenic and

was no longer taking his medication. Shortly after his arrest, Maartens was

transferred to Kroonstad, as the Department of Correctional Services was

not

able to accommodate him in Hennenman as a mentally-ill awaiting-trial

prisoner. For the evaluation, he would be transferred to Grootvlei Prison

outside Bloemfontein.

The psychiatric evaluation would determine Maartens’ criminal capacity –

whether he was able to distinguish between right and wrong at the time of
the

murder, and whether he would be able to stand trial and follow the

proceedings. The decision to send him for an evaluation had been decided
by

both the state prosecutor, Anneli van Tonder, and Maartens’ privately

appointed lawyer, Johan Terblanché.

Maartens, unshaven and wearing a casual black jacket, looked confused

when Magistrate Tony Brown ordered that he be referred to the FSPC.

Volksblad had reported that he was in such a bad mental state that the

authorities feared he may commit suicide.

Maartens did not once look at his father or his mother, who sat at the back

of the courtroom, and he did his best to avoid the journalists and

photographers. Shortly after the proceedings, both his parents visited him in

the court’s holding cells, where his father prayed for him. 22

Chané returned to court alone on 20 May, as Maartens’ psychiatric

evaluation had not yet been completed. Seeing her again made Henriëtte’s

skin crawl. Sitting in the front row, as always, the mother stared straight at

the woman who had killed her son. ‘Trash,’ she murmured audibly as Naas

held her. Chané looked as if she was smiling as she walked down the steps

past the Van Ecks.23

In June, both Maartens and Chané briefly returned to court, where the case

was again remanded to a later date. Advocate van Tonder stated that

Maartens’ evaluation was complete and the case had been referred to the

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further instruction. It would

come

to light in July, when Chané returned to court alone, that the psychiatric

evaluation had ruled Maartens unable to stand trial. The NPA instructed him

to undergo a second evaluation period. Maartens returned to court on 4

August after completing his second round of psychiatric assessments.

An angry Henriëtte complained to the police about the preferential

treatment the accused were receiving because their parents were allowed to

bring them bags of treats every time they appeared in court. 24 It was a

potentially explosive situation when Henriëtte and Salomé, Maartens’

mother, encountered each other in the corridor at the security checkpoint,

just

as Salomé arrived to take her son the snacks she had brought with her. It
was

the first time the women had met. Henriëtte approached the slender blonde

and a heated exchange broke out.

‘Are you Maartens’ mother?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ Salomé said warily.

Henriëtte felt her anger mount. ‘How can you still support your son after

he killed my son?’

Salomé lost her temper and told Henriëtte off. In turn, Henriëtte began to

scream at her. Soon they were screaming and shouting at each other. Court

security officials and police had to intervene to quiet them down. Naas, who

had been elsewhere in the building conversing with Ogies Nel, also heard
the

commotion. Shaking, Henriëtte left the building, where she was consoled
by

one of her daughters until she eventually calmed down, while Salomé went

inside to visit her son.

On 5 August, Maartens and Chané appeared in court together for the first

time since June, and 21 November was finally set as the date for the trial to

begin in the circuit court of the Free State High Court in Virginia, just seven

months after the murder.

14

The advocate

The senior advocate for the prosecution, Johan de Nysschen, a large, sturdy

man, poured himself another stiff drink. Detective Ogies Nel had called him

late on the Tuesday night of the arrest. She was ecstatic, her voice filled
with
relief at the breakthrough she and her colleagues had made. Her call to him

was straightforward: she wanted him to prosecute. De Nysschen, a family

man and a hunter who dreamt of owning a guesthouse in Namibia, could

deal

with a lot of bad shit. But he told Nel he could not promise her anything.

Over his 30-year career as a prosecutor, De Nysschen had encountered and

successfully prosecuted hundreds of violent, sometimes very sick and evil,

criminals, some motivated by hatred or revenge, others by greed or lust. He

thought he’d seen it all. He was wrong. Michael van Eck was not only

slaughtered, he was skinned for somebody’s pleasure. Chané van Heerden’s

pleasure. Despicable, he thought. He sat back. Swirling a straight double

brandy round in his glass, he considered what Nel had shared with him.

At her age, Chané van Heerden could just as well have been his own

daughter. Maartens van der Merwe could have been his son. And Michael,

too, was at the right age to have been his son, though De Nysschen had
never

had children of his own. Instead, he had raised and cared for the two young

daughters of his second wife as if they were his own flesh and blood. And

although he had never laid eyes on her, he could easily imagine the young,

white Afrikaans girl standing before him. The couple’s deeds filled him
with
horror.

Early the next morning, De Nysschen took the N1 and drove from

Bloemfontein to Welkom to meet Nel at the scene of the crime. Apart from

the odd municipal worker, the cemetery seemed deathly quiet, even
peaceful.

He walked with Nel, retracing the steps of Michael’s killers. Despite the

heavy rains of the night before, blood smears were still visible on the shafts

of the long grass. De Nysschen shuddered, but he walked away that day
fully

motivated to help Nel bring Michael’s murderers to justice.

The Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) office would have

recommended De Nysschen as the ideal candidate to prosecute the case

regardless of Nel and the Welkom police’s request. This was a high-profile

case in the Free State, and was now also making national headlines as
details

of the gruesome graveyard killing came to light.

De Nysschen had successfully prosecuted hundreds of brutal criminals in

the more than two decades he’d worked for the NPA and, despite his own

reservations, shock and dismay, this would be just one of them. He couldn’t

shake the feeling that there was one very important consideration in this
case,
however: his inherent belief that this murder would have been the first of

many. Chané and Maartens, as a couple, were a deadly combination likely

to

kill again and again and again.

Serial killers in the making.

De Nysschen had not felt this way since the case of Johan Nel from

Kimberley. Until now, that was probably the only case that had shocked him

to his core.

Dr Micki Pistorius, South Africa’s most renowned criminal profiler, who

testified in the Johan Nel case, describes a serial killer as a person who

murders several victims, usually strangers. The motive is intrinsic: an

irresistible compulsion fuelled by fantasy that may or may not lead to

torture

and/or sexual abuse, mutilation and necrophilia. The killings can occur at

different times and not necessarily at the same location. There is often a

cooling-off period in between.

Pistorius is of the firm belief that serial killers cannot be rehabilitated.

In her book Strangers on the Street, 25 she recounts the story of Jan

Abraham Christoffel Nel, a case which unfolded over a period of two

decades

in the Northern Cape. Nel was first incarcerated after killing one girl and
raping another in 1984, and again after killings in 1997 and 1998.

Pistorius describes Johan Nel as having had a somewhat tumultuous youth.

After his father’s death, his mother remarried. Although Nel despised his

stepfather, an aggressive and violent man who assaulted both him and his

mother, as a boy he did not seem to have a problem with the assaults on his

mother. Pistorius writes that it was Nel’s belief that a ‘man should put a

woman in her place’. As an adolescent, he ran away from his school’s

hostel

and his mother did not object when he went to live with his grandmother in

Benoni, Gauteng. Nel did not make it past Grade 9 and enlisted in the army.

In 1984 he returned to the Northern Cape to live in Postmasburg. At the

age of 18, he attended a disco dance party at the local showgrounds. After a

day of drinking, he plucked up the courage to ask several girls to dance with

him, but they refused. This rekindled the rejection he had experienced when
a

girl had left him for someone else three months earlier. It also reminded him

of his mother, who did not care when he left the hostel to live with his

grandmother.

Later that night he went to the toilet to relieve himself. He saw two girls

entering the ladies’ toilet. Pistorius writes that Nel later testified that he
knew
at that moment that he was going to kill them. Realising they were being

attacked, one of the girls managed to escape by locking herself in one of the

toilet cubicles. Fifteen-year-old Rika Fouché was not so lucky.

The friend heard how Nel ordered Rika to take off her clothes. She refused.

The next thing she heard was a struggle, followed by a rasping noise. Then

all fell silent. Nel washed his hands and walked out. Rika’s throat was slit

and she had been stabbed 25 times. Her panties were ripped, but Nel had
not

managed to rape her.

The friend tried to escape from the toilet, but Nel soon caught up with her.

He raped her brutally at the nearby stables, but the lights of a passing
vehicle

saved her life.

Nel was arrested shortly afterwards. He told the interrogating officer that

he hated all women. Furthermore, he felt relieved after the murder and had
no

regrets. In June 1986, he was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Just over a decade later, however, he was out on parole.

In January 1997, Nel settled in Upington, where he worked as a mechanic.

In her book, Pistorius writes that Nel kept to himself. He had no friends and

did not date. On Friday 10 November, he went to where the local prostitutes
gathered at night, just up the road from his workplace.

Here he found 18-year-old Hermien Maasdorp, a schoolgirl who had

attended a party at the Fantasy nightclub. The last time her friends saw her

was when she went to look for a lift at around 1 a.m. Her body was found
the

next day in the deserted veld, brutally assaulted and raped. A month later,
Nel

picked up 22-year-old prostitute Belinda Visagie. The ladies of the night

knew Nel as a regular client. Nel and Belinda had consensual sex, but when

she refused him anal sex, he lost control. He struck her head and face

repeatedly with a bottle. She managed to escape.

Three months later, Janetta Meintjies, a 30-year-old prostitute, became

Nel’s next victim. She was found naked in the veld, her face covered in
sand.

Her broken jaw was lodged in her throat.

Nel, whose semen was found at all three crime scenes, was arrested on 23

March 1998.

De Nysschen was appointed as prosecutor when, in July 1999, Nel was

charged with the attempted murder of Belinda Visagie, as well as the rape

and murder of Hermien Maasdorp and Janetta Meintjies.

De Nysschen was deeply shaken by the case. Not only was Nel a serial
killer in his eyes, but it would become clear over the course of the trial just

how much violence against women and children repulsed the prosecutor.

Johan Nel was ultimately convicted of all the charges except the rape of

Janetta. As she was a prostitute, it could not be proven that she did not give

permission for sex before he murdered her.

Pistorius states in her book that despite 12-and-a-half years behind bars,

Nel resumed his career as a serial killer as soon as he got out. Although
more

lives had been lost, this time De Nysschen ensured Nel was sentenced to
life.

Pistorius writes that Nel’s case proves the fact that serial killers cannot be

rehabilitated and will carry on killing if they are released. Nel had a long
time

in prison during which to decide to try to change his life, but he chose to
kill

again.

‘I do not know of any instance of a serial killer who has not continued

killing after his release from prison. Correctional Services authorities

should

adhere to a judge’s sentence. If a man is sentenced to life imprisonment for

these types of crimes he should stay in prison for the rest of his life,’ she

writes.
Pistorius goes on to cite the case of Californian serial killer Edmund Emil

‘Big Ed’ Kemper III, also known as ‘The Co-ed Killer’, who, after having

been sentenced for killing his grandparents at the age of 15, went on to kill

another six young women, his own mother and her friend after his release.

De Nysschen was adamant that this was not going to be the case in the

Welkom graveyard murder. Even if this was only their first kill, he was not

going to set serial killers on the loose. This couple would not murder again.

Not on his watch.

After appearances in the lower courts, the case was finally remanded to the

High Court, with the trial due to start in the Virginia Circuit Court on 21

November 2011 before Honourable Judge Albert Kruger. Local, national

and

international media made their way to the small town of Virginia. Chané
and

Maartens again put up a united front, holding hands where they sat in the

dock.

‘In the matter of Chané van Heerden, Accused No. 1, and Maartens van

der Merwe, Accused No. 2, I appear on behalf of the state,’ said De

Nysschen.

Both the accused, who each earned meagre salaries, had qualified for legal

aid.
‘As it pleases the court, I appear on behalf of Accused 1,’ said Advocate

Leona Smit, whom the court had appointed as Chané’s legal representative.

Smit was from Legal Aid South Africa, an organisation that provides legal

representation paid for by the state when an individual cannot afford it.

‘As it pleases the court, I appear on behalf of Accused 2,’ said Advocate

Sunette Kruger, Maartens’ legal representative, also from Legal Aid SA.

De Nysschen’s words fell like lead as he read the first charge of

premeditated murder as defined by the South African Criminal Procedures

Act.

The Van Eck family huddled tighter together, while Henriëtte van Eck’s

eyes bore holes into the backs of Chané’s and Maartens’ heads.

It was decided in chambers that Maartens would be sent for a third round

of psychiatric evaluation. The first-round assessment had found Maartens

unable to stand trial because, due to his mental illness, he would not be able

to follow the proceedings; the second-round assessment had found that he

was indeed able to stand trial, but the report also alleged that he had

diminished capacity at the time of the crime due to his mental condition.

Bullshit, thought De Nysschen. With all the evidence at hand, he was not

going to allow Maartens to get off using his condition as an excuse. De

Nysschen was ready to prove that Maartens had participated in the planning
and execution of the murder knowing full well what he was doing.
According

to Chané’s family, she did not have a history of mental illness, and it was

therefore never considered that she be sent for psychiatric evaluation.

Both Maartens and Chané had intended to plead guilty, but as it had been

agreed that Maartens would undergo a final evaluation, the court heard that

his plea could not yet be accepted.

‘I suggest that the accused will plead as we go on, but with regards to

Accused 2, there has been a request to send him for further psychiatric

evaluation. I would thus ask that he does not put forward any pleas on the

charges before this honourable court before we are in possession of those

reports,’ De Nysschen stated for the record.

The defence and Judge Kruger agreed that only Chané’s plea would be

accepted as De Nysschen continued to read out the second and third

charges.

‘Robbery with aggravating circumstances.’

‘Corpse mutilation.’

‘As it pleases the court, M’lord, I would like to confirm that my client

intends to plead guilty on all the charges,’ Smit said on behalf of Chané. In

South Africa, when an accused pleads guilty, the defence has the
opportunity
to call witnesses first to testify in mitigation of sentence.

‘Has a plea agreement been drawn up?’ Judge Kruger asked in a clear and

controlled tone.

‘Yes, M’lord, a plea agreement has been drawn up in terms of section 112.

May I hand the court the original? May I continue to read it into the
record?’

‘Yes,’ responded the judge.

‘This is then a statement in terms of section 112 (2) of the Criminal

Procedure Act 51 of 1977, as amended.’

Smit began reading the words as if they fell directly from Chané’s lips.

Short and concise, her statement was cold, lacking in detail and offering

little insight into what had transpired in the graveyard on the night of 2
April

2011.

Smit’s voice was devoid of all emotion.

I, the undersigned, Chané van Heerden, state hereby as follows:

I am Accused 1 in the abovementioned case. I give this statement

voluntarily and

without any undue influence while I am at my full consciousness.

I understand the charges against me and I wish to plead guilty in that the
offences
were committed on or around 2 April 2011 at the Welkom Cemetery,
together with

Maartens van der Merwe (hereafter referred to as Accused 2), unlawfully

and

intentionally killed Michael Ignatius van Eck, an adult male (hereafter

referred to as

the Deceased).

On the abovementioned date the deceased was unlawfully and intentionally

violated by means of stabbing him with knives to rob him of the following
items,

the property of the deceased:

One Peugeot vehicle worth R120 000

One fabric vehicle freshener worth R25

One CD folder with CDs

One pair of reading glasses worth R3 000

One wallet worth R50

The deceased’s driver’s licence

Two employment ID cards

One Absa bankcard

Cash in the amount of R1 000

One Ericsson cellphone worth R5 000

Chané went on to briefly state the background of her and Maartens’

relationship. She said that she and Maartens had been in a romantic

relationship since January 2011, studied the occult together and had created

their own rituals, during which they slaughtered cats.

Whether consciously or not, she then placed the blame on Maartens for

wanting to kill human prey.

‘Accused 2 suggested we do something that will hold a greater challenge.

We then decided to search for a human victim.’

According to her statement, she approached Michael via the site 2Go on

Thursday 31 March – a mere two days before the murder. After some

communication, she suggested that they meet at the graveyard that Saturday

at 9 p.m.

Chané’s statement recounts what happened that night, sketching her and

Maartens’ respective roles:

‘Accused 2 and I agreed that he would stab [the victim] and I would

slaughter him …’

But she would be the one to stab him in the back three times.

‘I cut off his head with a knife. I skinned his head.’

The statement ended abruptly. On behalf of Chané, Smit asked Judge

Kruger for mercy during sentencing.

‘I know my actions were wrong and that I must be punished.’

Chané certainly did not look sorry.

In fact, her request for clemency contradicted what she had told Professor

Dap Louw, the forensic psychologist from the University of the Free State

who had observed her in the months before this plea explanation had been

drawn up.

Although Louw did not diagnose Chané as a psychopath, she had given

him a textbook answer when he asked her how she felt about what she had

done:

‘I know that I should feel guilty for what I did because everyone says I

should, everybody expects it from me. I try to feel guilty, but I can’t.’

Chané stood up and pleaded guilty on all three charges before sitting down

again.

De Nysschen requested that the proceedings against Maartens van der

Merwe and Chané van Heerden be split in light of the decision that
Maartens

would be sent for a third round of 30 days’ psychiatric evaluation. As

Chané

had pleaded guilty, it was decided to conclude her trial.

Maartens would be transferred to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital situated

just west of Pretoria in the province of Gauteng, where the renowned

Paralympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius, would be sent three years later to be

evaluated as an outpatient after killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Advocate Kruger excused herself, as her presence was no longer required.

She turned to Maartens and, with a nod of her head, indicated for him to get

up. Maartens turned slightly towards his fiancée so that he could squeeze
her

left hand. She glanced up. For a split second their eyes met and it was then,

for the first and last time during the court proceedings, that Chané showed

any sign of emotion. As Maartens got up and was taken from the
courtroom,

she was alone in the dark with her dolls again.

It would be the last time she and Maartens ever saw each other.

15

The dog that was spared

Chané refused to take the stand. She was not about to explain anything to

anyone. In fact, she had said more than enough already. She was not
planning

on acting out a heartfelt apology, like a puppet, or being subjected to

another

unnecessary inquisition into what had happened. She had told Elizabeth

Vergottini, the social worker who had evaluated her, enough about herself
and felt that she had said all that she had to say.

When Brigadier Gérard Labuschagne, commander of the police’s

investigative psychological unit arrived at Kroonstad Prison after arranging

with Chané’s lawyer for a pre-sentencing interview, Chané sent a message

via the guards that she was not interested in seeing him.

However alone and exposed she looked, she sat in the bench unapologetic

and unmoved.

Henriëtte van Eck was fuming. She was angry with Chané for her

callousness and audacity. Henriëtte wanted to know why: why her only son,

why him, who in his short life had only shown kindness to those around
him?

She wanted to know everything. As a mother who thought she had been

aware of every aspect of her son’s life, she believed that knowing what he

had had to endure during his last moments would bring her closer to him,
and

bring her closure. Maybe, even if only for a moment, it would make her feel

as if she could have somehow protected him. All of Michael’s loved ones
felt

a deep sense of guilt. Why could they not have been there to protect him?

The Van Eck family had so many unanswered questions, and the only two

people who could give them the answers would not provide them.
Henriëtte refused to believe that her son had gone to the graveyard out of

his own free will. Where did he go and pick Chané up that night? Where
was

the one missing vertebra in his neck? What did they do with his eyelids?

The anger inside her mounted with each passing second in the courtroom.

Holding down her shaking hand, her husband had to subtly restrain her
while

she sat visualising herself getting up and grabbing Chané by her long hair
and

wrapping her hands around her neck. She wanted to make the girl writhe
and

choke and splutter, and pray and beg for mercy. But she would not kill her

there and then. In her mind, her revenge for this woman was not merciful. It

was slow and painful. This had become her fantasy; her reality.

‘M’lord, the accused is of the intention to call only one witness prior to

sentencing. It will be Elizabeth Vergottini, the social worker who has also

drawn up the pre-sentencing report with regards to the accused,’ stated

Advocate Smit on behalf of Chané.

‘Is that in order, Mr de Nysschen?’ inquired Judge Kruger.

De Nysschen said yes.

‘As it pleases the court, the defence then wishes to call Mrs Elizabeth
Maria Vergottini as a witness,’ Smit read into the record.

Vergottini, a blonde mother who also runs a dance academy in Kroonstad,

walked to the stand holding her concise but detailed psychosocial report,
the

closest those present could ever hope to get to the killer of Welkom.

She slid gracefully into the witness box.

The social worker began by describing her lengthy résumé, establishing

her as a seasoned professional dealing with criminals, children, parents and

people who were generally not in a good place in their life.

Her confident voice resounded through the courtroom as she began to read

out her report.

‘[The accused] gave her positive co-operation from the start,’ Vergottini

began. ‘The accused has no previous convictions.’

Henriëtte looked as though she were in pain. De Nysschen glanced at her.

Vergottini’s in-depth and honest account of her interview with Chané soon

began to cut like a scalpel through the layers of physical, emotional and

spiritual skin to expose the lurking, decaying cancer that had led to this

vicious attack.

‘What is of concern is that [the accused] has shown no remorse. Even her

description of the offence and the planning thereof was done with precision
and displayed no sign of emotion whatsoever. She told me how weird it felt

to chat and flirt with the victim while her boyfriend was watching them.
The

normal reaction would have been how weird it felt that they were, in fact,

planning to murder him.’

During the interview, Chané had explained how worried she was about

what she and Michael would talk about while they were sitting on the white

sheet.

‘She said she isn’t really a social person. This was her concern, while her

anxiety should rather have been about the fact that she was going to murder

the victim. Here it comes to the fore that Chané’s reality and the reality of

others are very different.’

De Nysschen nodded in agreement. Judge Kruger moved closer as his chin

hovered over the hard wood, listening intently.

Vergottini told the court that after Chané and Maartens had slaughtered

cats the first time, they decided to go to the local SPCA to obtain some dogs

– bigger, more challenging prey on which to practise their rituals.

But at the last minute, Chané changed her mind.

‘She decided it would be very severe to take home an animal that has been

abused its entire life and thinks it is going to get a good home, only to be
killed … She feels sorry for a dog that is to be killed but not for the human

being.’

It was clear that the social worker was not there to enhance the accused’s

image by omitting any of her less positive attributes.

Chané had told Vergottini that she realised the consequences of her

actions.

‘Now that she experiences the grief of the people around her, she realises

for the first time the seriousness of the crime she has committed. She feels

bad that she took the victim away from his mother because she heard he had
a

good relationship with her. She did not realise the emotional damage that
she

would cause. But, again, this is all about the emotions around the offence

itself; it is not remorse for what she has done.’

Chané described the events leading up to the murder like she was reciting

the plot of a book she had read. She knew exactly what had taken place, but

she still showed no emotion.

‘She was caught up in what they were doing. It involved careful planning.

It was a brutal murder, yet a dog was spared.’

Vergottini went on to discuss Chané’s troubled youth, telling the court

about her trauma in church as a young child, her mother’s perceived
feelings

towards her, and her early experimentation with sex and drugs.

‘But was it her relationship with Maartens that led her to act out her

fantasies?’ Smit asked Vergottini as she concluded her questioning. ‘By that
I

mean: Do you think one influenced the other or was it the combination?’

‘I won’t say she influenced him or he influenced her. Together, they were a

disaster,’ Vergottini replied.

Judge Kruger asked De Nysschen if he wanted to cross-examine the

witness.

‘Yes, thank you, M’lord. Mrs Vergottini, I have to tell you it was a very

good report. I must compliment you. I think it will help this court to know
the

entire history of this woman, because surely you will agree with me there

must be a reason why this loathsome crime was committed?’

‘Yes, thank you. As I told the court, a lot of people go through trauma,

some far worse than what Chané has experienced, so it could not have been

all that caused her involvement in this murder,’ Vergottini said.

‘Okay, let’s try to sum it up,’ De Nysschen tried again. ‘Now you must

help us. It is a combination of everything that has gone wrong, the rejection,
the labelling … What else?’

‘I can’t make a diagnosis. I am not a psychologist. I am not a psychiatrist.

But anyone would realise when taking into account the lack of emotion, that

there are psychologically, psychiatrically, other factors. It is almost like she

and Maartens had created a vacuum in which they lived and in which they

told each other [that doing] these things is okay.’

De Nysschen continued: ‘It would appear to me, and please correct me if

I’m wrong, that these two people appear to [be] serial killers in the making,

and there is evidence I will present from the side of the state that they are

indeed serial killers. This [would] just [have been] the first of a series if
they

had not been caught. Your comment?’

‘They would have done it again if they were not caught,’ said Vergottini.

‘She has cut off a person’s face. Why do it again?’ asked De Nysschen.

‘I can speculate that it is still part of their fantasy, their vacuum, their little

world. After they slaughtered the cats, they felt closer to each other. After
this

murder they didn’t feel any different. She said she was waiting for that kick.

It didn’t happen. Chané was dead honest with me. She said she did not need

to tell me lies. She would definitely have done it again before she saw what

emotional damage it caused to those around her. Chané is reasonably

intelligent, she can reason quite well, and she realises that she took this

relationship from a son and his mother, which she never had.’

‘Now you see, that is what worries me. You say that she only sees that

reality now.’

‘Yes.’

‘But earlier you said she [had] valued a dog above the deceased …’

‘Yes, that is again a distorted sense of reality, isn’t it? Who out there is

going to choose a dog’s life before man’s? She did. She saved the dog’s life,

but not the human’s.’

De Nysschen shook his head repeatedly: ‘The very verbalisation of what

she “realises” now worries me … She tells you she really felt sorry for the

kittens because Maartens had slashed them apart. And now she realises,
wait

a minute, I did this terrible thing that tore apart a mother and her son. Isn’t it

just too sudden and convenient to now say I see the reality? Understand
what

I mean?’

‘I think what one must understand is that what she feels now is not

remorse. It is the remorse surrounding everything. It is not a feeling in her

heart of, “Gosh, I’ve killed a man”; it is about the relationship she realises

she has taken away. I don’t know how else to explain it. But she is not sorry
about Michael.’

‘Is it correct that, according to her, the deceased was a complete stranger to

her, someone she had met on an internet chat site?’

‘Correct.’

De Nysschen questioned Vergottini on the reports of other experts,

especially regarding satanism and possible psychiatric deviations.

‘It is important to remember [that] I am a social worker, so I look at this

thing from a psychosocial point of view, in terms of relationships and

environment. It would be unprofessional of me to say when I don’t agree.’

‘Do I understand correctly that the occult did not have any bearing on the

committing of this murder? Satanism? Is there a difference between the

two?’

‘There is a difference between the two. To say satanism played a role, I

would disagree with. I consulted with the expert Johan de Beer, so I am

really

paraphrasing. The occult did play a part earlier in Chané’s life. She was in a

relationship with a satanist. You cannot be in a relationship with a satanist

for

almost four years and it does not rub off on you. She never participated in
the

rituals and in satanism, if I have it right, but from a young age she was told
she is demonic.

‘It comes out in my report, as part of her history, that she was weird and

different. I think from a young age there was a label around her neck that
she

has a demon and that she is different, because she liked to draw eyes,
because

she did things other people found weird. The role the occult played I cannot

comment on, but I do think it had an influence. She could not have been

involved in the occult in some way and it does not rub off. It’s impossible.’

‘Did you have a look at the photos in the police file, the bundle of photos

taken from her and Maartens’ cellphones and laptops?’

‘No, I did not.’

‘You will see that relatively shortly before this murder they indeed

slaughtered another cat. The cat’s head was found in her cupboard. But
what

is more insightful is that the cat was crucified. And then the both of them
had

a chance to sit with the cross in front of them to be photographed. Do you

have any comment on that?’

‘If I had to have an opinion about that, it would be that this was a type of

ritual they had created for each other. Something they did together to give
meaning to life. The idea I got was that people found them odd. Her former

employer said he found this man [Maartens] very peculiar. He would come

and fetch Chané if they were working late, and sit outside smoking until
late

and not come in. He was peculiar to people, she was always peculiar to

people. Now they were together and could do things together – things that
are

peculiar to us.’

‘Did she ever verbalise to you when they cut off the deceased’s face and

other body parts what they were planning on doing with them?’ De
Nysschen

asked.

‘No. She never really talked about that. From what she told me it was all

about skinning. She did tell me that the deceased was injured during the

murder. He got cut on his face during the struggle and she stitched it up.
She

had never done it before, and she wanted to, and then she sewed his mouth

closed too. So what I got from her is that she liked to work on the skin, the

cutting of the skin, but nothing about the storing of it after.’

De Nysschen referred to almost an hour of footage found on Chané’s

phone, where she recorded herself skinning Michael’s face. This was one of
the discoveries that had shocked even Detective Nel to the core. Nel, sitting

close to De Nysschen, as she often did, listened carefully, as if what she was

hearing was a distant memory from a past life. It was almost like she had
not

been there during the days, weeks and months during which these
disturbing

discoveries were made and included on the docket that made up this case.

De Nysschen: ‘The stitching done to the mouth is evidently an idea she had

for a long time, because one can see it embodied in her artworks. So it was

not done on the spur of the moment. She did not decide that weekend that
she

was going to sew his mouth shut. The whole fact that she documented this

procedure on her cellphone, why did she do that? Did she ever verbalise to

you why this was done?’

‘No, she did not.’

‘It gives me the impression that this was some kind of a documentary. We

go through this process and keep it on our computer for later.’

‘She did not mention this to me,’ Vergottini said, ‘but it would be like

some people [who] get a kick out of filming sexual activities just to watch it

later to get another kick out of it. Remember, they did what they did in the

hope of having an emotional experience, which she of course told me they

did not. They kept thinking, “Now it’s done, when will the feeling kick in?”

She told me they read up a lot about serial killers and that when they killed

someone they [achieved] an orgasm, or something like that – they never

[did], so where was the enjoyment? They never got [that feeling].’

‘Like that Ramirez character she clearly worshipped?’ De Nysschen would

come back to this serial killer, and his influence on Chané, later in the

proceedings.

‘This is the first time I’ve heard that [what] they did was documented. All I

can deduce is that perhaps she hoped that, when seeing it later, she would
get

the satisfaction she was after and did not get.’

‘Now I have to tell you that there was also a video recording of one of the

cat slaughters and I definitely did not get the impression – and I did not
want

to unnecessarily show the video to this court – but I definitely did not get
the

impression that she was upset about the killing of that cat. It is like you
said,

a basic, emotionless exercise.’

‘The lack of emotion, that is what I am trying to emphasise, that is what

concerns me. The norm is when you run over a cat, and it was an accident,
you have an emotional response. But to violently kill an animal and then
talk

about it without any emotion, that is not the norm.’

‘Can we hang the label of psychopath around her neck, or can we not go to

that level?’ De Nysschen asked Vergottini.

‘I can’t, but what I can say is there is a lack of conscience that concerns

me.’

‘You see, what is worrying is that this murder had been planned since

February. They searched for a victim. If you look at the messages between

them, they were already looking for a victim then. Did she tell you that?’

‘Yes, she did. How long they planned it I don’t know, but they did. Before

they decided on using the chatroom 2Go, they went looking for a victim.’

‘I can safely say that there is one lucky person in this country today, if not

more. Did she ever tell you that they planned together to lure him in?’

‘Yes. Initially they drove around searching for a victim. But that didn’t

materialise.’

‘What messages did she send the victim? What did she tell him via

cellphone to get him so far as to go to a graveyard?’

‘She did not tell me precisely, but what it came down to is that they flirted

and she wanted to make it worth it for him to come and meet her.’
‘And did she also tell you that she dressed totally appropriately for this

role, in a short little dress and so on?’ De Nysschen asked.

‘She told me she said she would make sure that she wore something nice,’

Vergottini replied.

‘She had to have told him provocative things and she had to look

provocative or else he wouldn’t have gone there.’ De Nysschen looked

convinced of his theory. ‘And if he got there and she did not look properly

provocative, he would most certainly not have stayed.’

‘Yes, it was the plan, and she admits that.’

‘The couple definitely got something out of this, else they would not have

got engaged,’ De Nysschen speculated.

Vergottini said that Chané never shared details of the engagement with her.

‘Did she tell you [that] they cut each other and let the blood drip into a

bowl, and put their rings in it?’

‘No.’

‘Okay, but again this is far removed from the norm. We are not talking

about a relationship [that] normal people have.’

‘Their relationship was very unique. It is not the passage of a normal

relationship or of an engagement.’

‘Did you ever ask her how she managed to cut the face off so perfectly?’
‘No, I did not.’

‘Because it was indeed done with surgical perfection. Would you agree?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Did she ever tell you how long it took her to do it?’

‘No, I did not ask her about that.’

‘I have no further questions, M’lord.’

A silence fell upon the courtroom as Vergottini stood up and left the room.

Even the judge looked emotionally exhausted, and adjourned the court until

the next morning.

16
Satan’s spawn?

‘Was that the satanic murder?’ was the most common way of referring to
the

crime in dinner-party conversations all over the country. That satanism had

been involved seemed to be a popular belief, perhaps because for ordinary

folk it was the only way of processing Welkom’s infamous graveyard

murder.

Even though Chané and Maartens vehemently denied any satanistic

influences, it was important for the state to consult experts and rule it out as
a

motive. Exploring this field would give clarity on what could possibly have

led to such a heinous crime. Once the findings were made public, there was

an outcry from satanists, many of whom condemned the crime.

Dr Kobus Jonker, a former policeman and a respected South African and

international expert on the occult, became interested in the field after he

attended an incident in 1981 in Port Elizabeth, where a ‘witch’ had

allegedly

committed suicide. During this time there was an explosion of occult-

related

crimes across the country and Jonker had become increasingly involved in

such investigations. Jonker’s interest and experience later led to him taking
charge of the SAPS’ Occult Unit. At the time of the Welkom murder, he had

already been investigating suspected occult-related crimes for 32 years.

De Nysschen had requested that the 61-year-old Jonker, a shortish man

with a seventies-style ‘dad’ beard and a calm, friendly demeanour, examine

all the exhibits, including police photographs, the photographic images

found

on the accuseds’ cellphones and computers, as well as Chané’s writings and

artworks, which were handed in to the court as evidence. 26

‘The Latin word occultus refers to something that is supernatural or

mysterious,’ Jonker began his testimony. He explained that the occult

covers

a variety of groups and beliefs. There are Christian cults and sects, Wicca (a

witch movement) and the paganist movement, all of which are classified

under the occult. In South Africa, muti murders and sangomas also form
part

of the occult realm.

‘These groups carry out three very specific activities that classify them as

occult cults, be they esoteric or religious: there is the act of the esoteric,

which means that the information they have is not accessible to the general

public and is kept secret; they make use of a person’s talents, which lie
beyond their five normal senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell;
and

there is an element of the supernatural,’ said Jonker, referring to the sixth

sense, the ability to perceive an unseen world.

De Nysschen looked as perplexed as the rest of the gallery.

‘Are you now talking about satanism or the occult in general?’

‘The occult includes satanism as well,’ Jonker replied.

De Nysschen cut to the chase.

‘Is it true that some of the evidence found on the accuseds’ phones could

also be described as examples of this so-called paganism, Wicca and so

forth?’

‘Yes.’

‘Satanism as well?’

‘Yes. The pentagram, a lot of the signs are there. If one looks at satanism,

there are different degrees of satanism. You firstly get traditional or, as I
say,

generation satanism, where it has been passed down the family for many

years from, say, a great-great-grandfather, which is completely closed off to

new members entering. Then one looks at modern satanism, which is open.’

Jonker turned to discussing the renowned modern satanist, American

Anton Szandor LaVey, who founded the Church of Satan.

Speaking to Volksblad crime reporter André Damons, an American leader

of the Modern Church of Satan, who goes by the name of Ceytin, distanced

himself from the macabre murder. He said that satanists like himself

sacrificed neither people nor animals and did not involve themselves in

violent crimes. 27

Ceytin said he assumed that the Welkom killers were sick psychopaths.

Rebellious youths listen to heavy-metal music, take a liking to satanic signs,

and dabble in satanism because it is perceived to be dark, evil and

mysterious, he explained. He went on to say that Satan cannot be used as an

excuse to kill, and explained that various sects operate within satanism, but

there are two large groups that exist: philosophical or modern LaVeyan

satanism, and traditional satanism.

The difference between them, Ceytin explained, is that modern satanists do

not believe in Satan, while the traditionalists do. Neither of these groups

makes ‘blood sacrifices’ and both live by the ‘11 rules’.

Rules 9 and 10 read: Do not harm little children. Do not kill non-human

animals unless you are attacked or for your food.

Rule 11 reads: When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone

bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

Jonker agreed with Ceytin’s analysis.

‘One also gets self-initiated satanism, where you style yourself,’ Jonker

said. ‘This is [an area in which] young people tend to get involved. It is not

group-related; they do things on their own. This is where I would say the

accused involved themselves in satanism. One also gets cult satanism,

which

is mostly prevalent in Europe and western Germany, and then, lastly, the

dabblers, the normal guy walking the streets dressed in black with an
upside-

down cross. I don’t view them as genuine satanists.’

De Nysschen said to Jonker: ‘A cat’s skull was found floating in an ice-

cream container in what was later established to be soapy water, in Chané’s

cupboard. Then there was the photograph where she is seen wearing a little

white dress, the kitten, nailed to a cross, is in front of her. She is on her

knees, bowed down in a posture as if she is praying.’

He said this almost rhetorically, as if he had made up his mind.

De Nysschen pushed on: What about the self-mutilation – the cuts on the

couple’s arms, the upside-down cross carved on a thigh? What about the cat

blood kept in the fridge, the skull-shaped candleholder holding a white

candle

Jonker did not hesitate. In the realm of the occult, especially in witchcraft
and satanism, the skull plays a particularly special role, he explained.

‘This is because there is believed to be magic around the head, because the

person’s entire personality and soul goes through the blood and
automatically

to the head. This is why, when you come across an occult-related crime

scene, there are never plastic skulls. It will always be real ones. There is a

reason for that. It is the mystical nature of it. Now this is where the
difference

comes in for the accused. You find a skull with a white candle. This does
not

fit in with satanism. Satanists use red and black candles. It is the power of

darkness. Of course the black and red candles [symbolise] energy and
blood.

So those are the two candles one would find on the skulls.

‘I have attended scenes where witchcraft was practised where white

candles were used on the skull. The white candle hints at sexual energy and

the sexual terrain, which is why the white candles on it are burnt. I also

noticed the little dress in the photo is white. This also plays a particular role

in the movement, because they believe that the bio-energy of the body cells
is

released more quickly. If she was a witch, and I am not saying she is, she
would be dressed like that for the sexual energy that is going to follow, if
one

looks at these aspects of witchcraft and Wicca. I will return to this part of

satanism and why I don’t say it is satanism that played a role.’

The court was told that Chané had once addressed a letter to a certain

Diana, in which she asked her for advice on a man she loved – specifically

that this Diana must tell Chané whether he is faithful to her.

‘Now, Diana is the goddess of the Wicca movement, so she is the god that

they worship. So there could be a connection to Wicca if one reads what

[the

accused] is asking [of] and demanding from her.’

Jonker went on to further discuss the other Wicca-, witchcraft- and

paganist-related evidence. He said that he noticed that Chané possessed a

set

of rune stones.

‘Runes are a set of 24 stones that each has one symbol of the rune alphabet

carved or drawn on them. It is a different sort of alphabet and is mainly

used

by witches, because on each stone another word is affixed. The stones are

used in fortune-telling, divination or the casting of certain spells. Now what

bothers me about this is that there is no evidence put forward that the
accused
had the Book of Shadows, the original Book of Shadows, in which rituals
and

ceremonies are documented. The walls of the garden flat were also painted
a

pure white shade.

‘Normally if you are deeply involved in such a movement, your walls

would be painted black, the globes usually purple. That is not [the case
here].

I could also not find evidence that anything had been carved into the

deceased’s skull. In the cases I have dealt with over the years, the so-called

souvenirs of skulls found there would have 666 carved on the left cheek, a

pentagram on the forehead, or on the right cheek the word “Satan”. Any

satanistic encryptions would mostly be carved into the skull.’

‘Now what about Ramirez?’

Chané was drawn to American serial killer Ricardo Leyva Muñoz

Ramírez, known as Richard Ramirez, a self-proclaimed satanist who

received

13 death sentences for the horrendous crimes he committed.

‘I did not note evidence [from photographs taken] at the scene as in the

case of Ramirez.’

Jonker basically confirmed the deductions Detective Nel had made on the
day of the crime and which she had discussed with Colonel Jacobs. There
had

been no pentagrams drawn in the ground or candles burnt while performing

the crime. Jonker also noted that no references were made to Satan, which

would have indicated that the crime was being committed in Ramirez’s

honour.

‘I only saw [the victim’s] mutilated body in that hole. One would have

expected more paraphernalia. I would say that they experimented but were

not deeply involved. Satanism, in my view, did not play a role in the
murder,’

Jonker said firmly.

In his career, Jonker had encountered several people who had indeed been

‘under the influence or in the control of demons’ when they committed a

crime. However, he did not believe either Chané or Maartens was

‘possessed’.

He said that the possessed individual was really also a victim. His reasons

were that the victim ‘loses control of [his or her] actions. The victim usually

suffers from anxiety attacks without any natural causes. The victim is

aggressive towards another without reason. And there is often a

supernatural

power or knowledge revealed. Voices often come out of the throat of such a
victim.’

Jonker admitted that it was often difficult to prove whether an individual

was actually possessed or just faking it.

‘I have had cases where a baby’s voice or a deep male voice comes out of

the mouth of a grown woman or a type of music will come from a man’s

voice when he speaks and his eyes are passive. In those cases, it is clear that

the person is demonically possessed.’

The possessed are greatly resistant towards Christians or people that reveal

the truths of the Bible, and they are also prone to cutting themselves. Jonker

made it clear to the court, however, that people with very high levels of

depression or anxiety also cut themselves: it does not mean that all people

who cut themselves are possessed.

Jonker read out an inventory Chané had compiled prior to the murder.

‘Needle, stitching, surgical, Minora-blades, wax, white candles, black

bags, Wet Wipes, take with,’ appeared as one list. Then it said: ‘black dress

costume, that box, rocks, pins, needles, hammer and rope’.

‘No demonic power can organise, no demonic power can plan,’ Jonker

said, concluding that the murder had been a cold-blooded, well-thought-out

plan.

De Nysschen questioned Jonker about Chané’s early childhood ‘friend’,

Azazel.

Jonker said that Azazel referred to the goat that the Israelites in the Old

Testament cast out into the desert so that God would forgive people their

sins. In some traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it is the name

for

a fallen angel. Jonker had been involved in the investigation of a European

satanic group where the followers worshipped Azazel. They later claimed

that this goat god they worshipped was, in effect, Satan.

‘But the mere association with this name does not make one a satanist?’

asked De Nysschen.

‘No, not at all,’ Jonker responded, making it clear that just because

Chané’s imaginary friend was once called Azazel, this did not mean she
was

a Satan-worshipper.

De Nysschen concluded his questioning: ‘So we can put this satanism

thing to bed?’

‘Yes.’

Smit’s cross-examination followed. Smit put it to Jonker that Chané had

quite emphatically denied from the start that the crime was satanic. Jonker

agreed. Smit said that Chané had, from a young age, studied various occult-

related material. She and her co-accused had created their own rituals, their
own unique rites and religion. Jonker said that that was correct.

The only conclusion the court could come to was clear: Michael van Eck’s

murder was not an act of satanism.

Everyone who left the courtroom that day was still none the wiser about

the struggle between light and dark in the minds of Chané and Maartens.

17

Psycho

Even Ceytin, the self-confessed satanist, was convinced that Chané and

Maartens were psychopaths rather than satanists. It was up to the experts,

however, to evaluate the accused and establish whether there were any

underlying psychological causes driving their behaviour.

Before the court proceedings started, Advocate de Nysschen had

approached Professor Dap Louw, a highly regarded forensic psychologist

from the University of the Free State, to provide insight into whether Chané

was indeed psychologically deviant and, if so, to what extent. De Nysschen

knew that Louw would be best qualified to propose an appropriate sentence

for the self-confessed killer once a diagnosis was made. The highly
respected

professor has written several university textbooks in the field of psychology

and is an internationally recognised expert in the subject of psychopathy.

De Nysschen had known Louw for decades, and Louw had also evaluated

the serial killer Johan Nel, whom De Nysschen had prosecuted in the late

1990s.

Chané had refused to be a ‘lab rat’ in the run-up to her trial, so not many

professionals had had the opportunity to evaluate her on a deeply

psychological level. Professionally, Louw was honoured to be chosen for

the

task.

In mid-2011, Louw and his postgraduate student Dr Sonja Loots had the

rare opportunity to interview both Chané and Maartens together. During the

session they were able to get a glimpse into the mind of the young girl who

had managed to lure Michael van Eck to the Welkom cemetery.

Loots had completed her PhD in psychology on antisocial personality

disorders among maximum-security offenders. In her study, she

investigated

the difference between psychopathy, dissocial personality disorder and

antisocial personality disorder in terms of prevalence, criminal thinking

styles

and aggression. After her PhD, she continued her investigation, focusing on

the cross-cultural expression of psychopathic symptoms among male

offenders. Maartens was thus of particular interest to her.

Getting Chané to cooperate was easy – the trip to Bloemfontein offered her

the chance to see her fiancé, even if it would only be for a few hours.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder measured by the presence or absence

of certain personality traits, such as a lack of conscience, and the levels of

manipulation, impulsivity, irresponsibility and other antisocial behaviours

present in the subject.

Although this kind of personality disorder is often exhibited by offenders,

several of the personality traits associated with psychopathy often form the

basis for success in spheres such as the corporate world and politics – as

evidenced by Canadian psychologist Robert Hare’s book Snakes in Suits,

says Loots. 28 Assessment of psychopathy is usually done by means of the

psychopathy checklist – Revised (PCL-R) – an in-depth, semi-structured

interview of approximately one and a half to two hours.

Looking at the checklist, the ‘perfect-score’ psychopath would have the

character of a cunning and manipulative pathological liar – impulsive in

nature and lacking in any sense of remorse, guilt or empathy. The

psychopath

is emotionally shallow and shows behavioural problems from an early age.

Behavioural traits include poor behavioural control, promiscuous sexual

behaviour and a lack of realistic long-term goals.

On the cold winter morning of her interview, Chané was again cuffed and

transported by police from the correctional facility in Kroonstad, where she

was awaiting trial.

Maartens, who was still undergoing psychiatric evaluation in

Bloemfontein, arrived in a separate vehicle at the campus of the University

of

the Free State, which, with its historic architecture, has an ambience that is

both welcoming and slightly overwhelming.

After months of longing and isolation, the two were reunited in the tall,

brown, brick building of the Department of Psychology. They were

ecstatically happy to see each other again. Clearly infatuated, they could not

stop talking or get enough of each other.

As the psychologists introduced themselves, Chané seemed vulnerable.

She spoke quietly in a small, girlish, almost childlike voice. She struck
Loots

and Louw as an introvert, like Maartens, but she also appeared to be very

pleasant and well mannered. Although naturally shy, she came across as a

surprisingly agreeable person – a bit of a ‘misunderstood artist’.

Louw led the forensic, and Loots the psychopathic, interviews in one of the

department’s special interview rooms, which has a one-way mirror and

microphones. Behind the mirror, observing, were Louw’s master’s degree

students who were training in clinical and counselling psychology. Louw

would eventually testify in the trials of both Chané and Maartens, although
he

had initially been asked only to evaluate Chané.

The well-spoken couple could easily have passed as students from the

university. They seemed just like average, middle-class young people taking

part in an innocuous survey. The conversation did not flow, however;

Chané’s answers were always short and to the point. Although Louw and

Loots learnt a lot about her nevertheless, she did not want to open up about

her deepest feelings. Louw ran through the checklists of basically every

psychiatric disorder with both Maartens and Chané.

One thing remained clear, though, and that was Chané’s lack of remorse or

guilt for what she had done. Other psychopathic traits included her
propensity

for boredom and her ‘shallow affect’, or lack of empathy regarding the
deed.

However, it might have been her deep emotional bond with Maartens that
had

allowed her to go through with the murder.

And if she really had realistic long-term goals, would she not more

seriously have considered the chances of being caught and the severity of
the
consequences?

Although she did strongly present several psychopathic traits, Chané’s

score on the psychopathy checklist was not high enough for her to be

diagnosed as a psychopath. She was clearly not parasitic, as she did not

sponge off her family. She always paid her debts and her own rent, even

though some months were tough. Before her sister emigrated, Chané
allowed

her to use her car for a small monthly stipend, which she said her sister
could

pay back when she could afford to – even when Chané herself was
struggling

financially at the time. When invited somewhere, she would always ask
what

to bring.

She and Maartens also shared domestic responsibilities, taking turns to buy

groceries and necessities for the house – albeit that some of those

‘necessities’ were for their rituals. She and Maartens were also not

emotionally parasitic on one another; rather, it was a case of mutualism.

Chané was also not a pathological liar; on the contrary, from the word go

she was painstakingly honest about what she had done. She did, however,

manage to manipulate everyone close to her into thinking that she was
doing
well while she and Maartens were actually leading a double life.

Maartens also exhibited some of the characteristics of a psychopath. These

manifested as poor behavioural control, early behavioural problems and a

lack of realistic long-term goals. But these were also not enough to
diagnose

him as a psychopath.

Whereas Chané’s symptoms were more personality-oriented, Maartens’

were more behaviourally-oriented. Personality symptoms are more inherent,

whereas behavioural symptoms can originate from external influences.

Chané’s IQ of 112 was two points above the average intelligence of 90 to

110. It begged the question why someone intelligent enough to know the

consequences would cut off someone’s face and not give a damn …

It was difficult for Loots and Louw to ascertain who was the more

dominant of the two. It was significant that Chané had not demonstrated
any

remorse for her actions, though this could be ascribed to the fact that she
did

not volunteer any information but only answered questions that were put to

her. This could have been due to her introverted or shy nature and a lack of

trust in the strangers questioning her.

Maartens was more forthright in admitting that what he had done was
wrong, and he understood the Van Eck family’s pain.

The question remained: Would the murder have taken place if Chané had

never met Maartens?

Even though Chané was dangerous, even remorseless, Louw and Loots

agreed that she would most probably not have committed such a deed on
her

own. She would have had to search long and hard to find somebody willing

to commit murder with her. Maartens, though, would do anything for his

partner, whether Chané or someone else. If he had not met Chané, but

someone else with a similar desire to kill, a murder may have happened in

another way, at another time.

Together they were fuel and fire, a rare explosion of two beings who,

unfortunately, met and stoked each other’s dangerous desires.

Despite having grown up within exactly the same dysfunctional family,

Chané’s older brother and sister had both turned out to be responsible,

respectful, law-abiding citizens. What could have impacted on Chané to

such

an extent that would explain why she had gone on to commit a crime of
such

magnitude?

Louw found her parents, and especially her mother, to be ‘wonderful

people’. Jacques and Charmaine had thought Chané’s adolescent behaviour

weird and way-out, but so do most parents of teenagers. The conflict

between

Chané and her parents, especially her mother, was also not unusual. Most

parents think their teenager is just ‘going through a phase’. It was alleged,

however, that after being date-raped, Chané did not get much support from

her parents, but they may not have known about the incident at all. Not
even

Chané’s sister was willing to talk about the rape.

Chané’s parents also knew nothing about her skinning fantasies. From

early in her adolescence, Chané had a very different outlook on life to that
of

other teenagers. Her parents thought her troubled behaviour to be normal

teenage angst. While she hid her fantasies from those close to her, she was

well aware of the fact that her dark thoughts were not the norm. Yet the

attack on Michael was possibly the first time she had ever physically hurt

another human being.

She and Maartens had made their warped fantasies a normal part of their

little world. And on this winter’s day in Bloemfontein, the lord and lady of

Ashmore were more in love than ever.

Maartens and Chané had not been able to communicate while they were
awaiting trial. The letters they had tried to send to one another were
allegedly

intercepted at the Kroonstad prison where Chané was incarcerated.

Louw noticed the strong urge the couple had to be together. He lingered in

the room next door after the interview, observing them through the one-way

mirror as they enjoyed a ‘private’ lunch. It was the only alone-time they had

that day, and Louw witnessed the almost tangible love and affection
between

them while they ate. It was an extraordinary bond.

18

Serial skinner

The scalping, flaying or skinning of a dead body is uncommon and no two

cases are the same. Some have said that the Welkom murder was the first

case in 25 years that was strongly reminiscent of Ed Gein, the American

serial killer. This may well be true. Professor Louw testified that in his

research in preparing for the case, he could only find 10 reported cases that

were similar to this unique kind of post-mortem mutilation, specifically

involving the removal of human skin. These included Gein and Jeffrey

Dahmer, one of America’s most notorious serial killers.

In 2001, Polish researchers and forensic scientists Jerzy Kunz and Adam

Gross published a paper titled ‘Victim’s scalp on the killer’s head – An

unusual case of criminal postmortem mutilation’ in The American Journal
of

Forensic Medicine and Pathology. 29 In it, they write that Ed Gein, on

whom

the character Buffalo Bill was based in the film The Silence of the Lambs,

collected the heads of his victims and shrank them using the technique of
the

Jivaro Indians. Gein, they claim, also made bracelets from the skin. In their

paper, the researchers also reference Dahmer, a ‘sadistic, sexual murderer,

an

obsessed fetishist and cannibal, who cut the heads off his victims, cleaned

and boiled them and then painted the skulls to display on an altar he
intended

to build’.

The night that Chané van Heerden mutilated her victim’s face resonates

particularly strongly with one other case, which the Polish forensic
scientists

analyse in depth. It involves a 26-year-old man in Poland who killed his

father and flayed his head, neck and face.

Kunz and Gross write that after killing his father, decapitating him and

dissecting the scalp from his skull, the young man made a mask and wore it

over his own head to imitate his father. The motive of the murder was
revenge, and the post-mortem mutilation was the realisation of the

perpetrator’s fantasies – symbolically representing a penalty for the

reprehensible past life of his father. The young man’s name is never

mentioned.

In the Welkom graveyard murder, Chané did not know the victim she was

to skin. Revenge could thus not have been the direct motive. But in

highlighting the differences, so the similarities become clearer.

Just as the Polish killer lured his unsuspecting father to the basement of

their home, only to stab him with a sharp object, so Michael was also an

unsuspecting victim, lured to the graveyard to die. The forensic scientists

write that, after failing to electrocute him, the son fatally wounded his
father

by inflicting multiple puncture wounds to the chest and neck, stabbing his

heart and lungs with a sharpened screwdriver.

After he hung his father by the legs from the cellar window, he decapitated

him using a surgical scalpel and shovel. He cut the body open at the back of

the legs, behind the knees, for it to bleed out into a bucket.

He then took the severed head and neck upstairs to his room, where he,

like Chané, operated on it throughout the night. The chilling photographs of

his handiwork reveal a sickening resemblance to Chané’s ‘creation’. Only

her
work had been done with far greater surgical precision. It begs the question

that still haunts investigators on the case: Had this really been her first
time?

After he did away with the head in the garden of their home, the young

Polish murderer used a needle and thread to stitch together the soft tissues
of

the head. He also tried to repair it with a prosthetic plastic mass. He dried
the

scalp, treating it with salt to prevent decomposition and went on to wear his

father’s face like a mask.

‘He put on his father’s clothes, hat, glasses, and scarf and left home to sit

on a bench. When his grandfather came by, he started a conversation with

him pretending to be his father. The grandfather did not recognise him and

was sure that he was talking with his son. After a while they even had

breakfast together. Finally, the grandfather, surprised by the unnatural voice

of his “son,” and suspicious of his interlocutor, went into the cellar …’

This was where he found the beheaded corpse.

‘He called the police from a neighbour’s house. The grandson, finding that

the crime had come to light, left home, taking garments his father wore on
the

day of his death and found a hiding place nearby. He looked on as the
police
carried out their investigation. He went to sit on a bus-stop bench, where he

was later arrested. The investigation revealed that the corpse was dressed

only in underwear and hung fastened by the legs to the window frame with

the upper limbs spread out on the floor as if crucified. The scalp of the
head,

neck, and upper chest, a sharpened screwdriver, and a shovel were found on

the floor. In the first-floor room, a needle and thread, surgical scalpel,

prosthetic mass, and some small pieces of scalp were found.’

Kunz and Gross found that the skinning of a homicide victim is very

uncommon in the modern age: ‘No reference has been found in the
available

literature on postmortem mutilation in the form of decapitation and scalping

of the head and neck, committed for the purpose of preparing a scalp-mask

for later wear while pretending to be the victim.’

It was never clear what Chané’s plans were when she placed the victim’s

face in a plastic bag in the freezer compartment, but forensic psychologists

are convinced that Michael’s remains were kept as a trophy, possibly for
later

wear to relive the thrill in another of her and Maartens’ bizarre rituals.

Historically, in Persia and medieval Europe, skinning a person alive was a

common torture method. The South American Jivaro tribe sliced off the
entire soft-tissue coat of the head of a murdered enemy before it was

‘miniaturised’ and the facial features preserved.

‘In the past, postmortem decapitation provided the winner with a war

trophy or fetish or constituted a means to depersonalize the dead

individual,’

write Kunz and Gross.

Chané had sought a random victim. The so-called depersonalisation of the

individual was evident while he was still a breathing human being.

Evidently

who had to die to fulfil her fantasy did not matter. What mattered was the

trophy she kept as proof of her personal feat. Later, in a letter from prison,

she would answer the broken mother’s question: Why? With the brutal

honesty that had become characteristic of Chané van Heerden, she replied:
‘I

was dead inside.’ Why would she care for someone else’s life if she did not

even care for her own?

Quoting Jovan Rajs et al.’s paper ‘Criminal mutilation of the human body

in Sweden – A thirty-year medico, legal and forensic study’, 30 Kunz and

Gross state that fellow researchers had in 22 cases of criminal postmortem

mutilations found only three instances where the skin had been flayed from

more extreme body areas, such as the head or extremities. All these cases
were necrosadistic or lustful in nature, where, by definition, the perpetrator

intended to have sex with the corpse. This was again not the motive in the

Welkom case. Chané’s motivation was to make her fantasy of ‘stitching

skin’

a reality.

In 31 cases of defensive and offensive mutilations, the murderers removed

mainly sexual organs and breasts. 31 Very seldom the face.

The Polish son had planned to mutilate his father’s body from the

beginning as a symbolic gesture. Just as Michael’s was. Like the father

killer,

the Welkom killers had also readily admitted guilt.

In summation of the case, Gross and Kunz write of the hatred and anger

the Polish son had felt towards his father, who had left his mother for a

woman 30 years his junior – the daughter of his friend.

‘The father left the boy’s mother and sister penniless and, despite the fact

that he himself was quite wealthy, he took no interest in their welfare and

offered no assistance. In the young man, these facts caused intense

aggression

and hatred toward his father, which culminated in a decision to murder

him.’

Although Chané also came from a dysfunctional family, she was close to
her father. In fact, forensic psychologist Dap Louw found that neither

Chané’s nor Maartens’ family background had any relevant effect on why

they committed the crime.

The Polish son studied medicine for one year, then psychology for three

years, and finally dropped out. Chané did not finish school but did go on to

complete her art diploma at the Goldfields FET College.

The Polish son testified in his trial that he had planned the murder and

mutilation in detail and had prepared the tools in the cellar. The murder was

to be ‘a work of art, illustrating extreme human meanness’ and ‘an act with

no holds barred’.

Maartens would testify that, for Chané, skinning Michael’s face was like

an art project.

Kunz and Gross say that the slaying of the Polish father was inspired by

the killer from the movie Se7en, who, in the film, ‘sacrificed himself ’,

punishing people for their sins and then confessing to the police. The Polish

murderer confessed to the police ‘wearing the scalp-mask on his own head.
It

was a kind of game he played with his grandfather to see whether he could
be

recognised.’

The decapitated body was hung in the position of an upturned cross, with
the lower limbs at the top. The reasoning behind this crucifixion was,

according to the Polish son, to symbolise that ‘the head of this kind of

scoundrel should not hang even on a devil’s cross’. The son believed that ‘a

man’s worth can be recognized in his values rather than on his face’, and so

the scalping of his father, ‘a man who never recognized any values’, was to

symbolise his ‘lack of face’.

‘Throwing the scalped head into the garden, where it rested among the

weeds was, in his thinking, “throwing away the weed” and “freeing the
body

from the presence of the head” (through decapitation) was to symbolize the

punishment, since (according to the son) “the head was guilty of

everything”.’

Psychiatrists diagnosed the Polish killer as having a borderline schizoid

personality. Schizoid personality disorder is a mental illness that is

characterised by a long-standing pattern of detachment from social

relationships. A person with schizoid personality disorder often has

difficulty

expressing emotions and does so typically in a very restricted range,

especially when communicating with others. A person with this disorder

may

appear to lack a desire for intimacy, and will avoid close relationships with
others. They may prefer to spend time alone rather than socialise or be in a

group of people. In laymen’s terms, a person with schizoid personality

disorder might be thought of as the typical loner.

Individuals with this disorder may have particular difficulty expressing

anger, even in response to direct provocation, which contributes to the

impression that they lack emotion. Their lives sometimes seem

directionless,

and they may appear to ‘drift’ in their goals. Such individuals often react

passively to adverse circumstances and have difficulty responding

appropriately to important life events.32

Article 34.2 of the Polish Penal Code decreed that this diagnosis set

considerable limitations on the Polish son’s capacity to understand the

meaning of the offence and his ability to guide his own behaviour.

Psychiatrist Merryll Vorster found that Chané, too, suffered from an anti-

social personality disorder, while forensic psychologist Dap Louw found

that

she possessed only some of the traits, but not enough to make this
diagnosis.

While Maartens had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic at a young age,

experts agreed that his mental condition had no bearing on the crime. They

were unanimous that he would have murdered regardless.

In the case of the killer in Poland, his medical history did have a bearing

on the crime and, as a result, he could not be held accountable for his
terrible

deed, but Chané and Maartens knew exactly what they were doing. It would

come to light during Maartens’ trial that both he and Chané were well
aware

of the fact that they would go to prison; they even estimated that they’d be

incarcerated for at least 15 years if they were caught.

19

Profiling a dangerous criminal

Very often when the police are confronted with a crime scene of a

particularly bizarre nature, the investigating officer will request the

assistance

of a criminal profiler. The profiler investigates the details of the crime,

whether in photographs or by attending the actual crime scene, as well as all

the available evidence to try to establish what kind of individual or suspect

the police are looking for.

The national commander of the Investigating Psychology Unit, Brigadier

Gèrard Labuschagne, an attractive man with piercing blue eyes and a

shaven

head, holds master’s degrees in psychology and criminology and a

doctorate
in psychology, has studied psychologically motivated crimes for over 15

years and consulted on over a hundred murder cases.

Labuschagne did not visit the crime scene where Michael van Eck was

murdered, and Chané refused to see him after he made the journey from

Pretoria to Kroonstad to meet her.

Taking into account that he was the one who would draw up her

presentencing report, this might have been a mistake on her part. Then
again,

Labuschagne is not easily fooled and nothing slips by him, so seeing him

might not have benefitted her at all.

The purpose of Labuschagne’s crime-assessment report was to provide the

court with additional information, based on an analysis and interpretation of

the various elements of the crime, so that the court could determine a just
and

appropriate sentence.

Labuschagne took into account the case file, his perusal of the accused’s

home, consultations with the prosecutor and investigating officer, and all
the

experts’ reports. He took the stand with the ease of someone who had done
so

over 80 times before.

‘With a psychologically motivated crime there is no external benefit for the

offender, and victims tend to be strangers,’ Labuschagne began. ‘In other

words, there is often no prior relationship that led to the victim being
selected

… The crime itself is a reward or motive for the offender.’

In a country where violent crimes such as rape, robbery and murder are

everyday occurrences, Labuschagne stated that this offence was materially

different from the cash-in-transit-heist scenario, where robbers kill in order

to

obtain money. There the crime itself is merely a stepping stone to the
reward,

which is to spend the money. In a psychologically motivated crime,

offenders

satisfy their needs by means of actually committing the crime.

‘So, if I understand correctly, the deceased could have been anybody?’

asked De Nysschen.

‘That is correct,’ Labuschagne replied. ‘The evidence of the psychological

crime can be seen in various ways: these include excessive violence to the

body, mutilation of the body, removal of the body parts and insertion of

foreign objects into the genitals of the victim. These crimes include serial

murder, serial rape, sexual murders, child molestations and domestic

violence
– to name a few.’

One did not have to consult a forensic pathologist to see that excessive

violence and mutilation were integral parts of Michael van Eck’s murder.

Labuschagne, who had seen the evidence and read the expert reports, knew,

too, that the murderers’ fantasies had been developing for a long time.

‘Fantasies are often noted in psychologically motivated crimes. A fantasy

is often seen as the blueprint for the crime. They develop over many years

and are often acted out in increments. The purpose of the fantasy is to create
a

scenario that allows the offender to behave, experience or feel in a certain

way that they cannot feel in their daily life,’ Labuschagne explained.

‘Fantasies can be a response to events that have happened to the offender

… The offender who was abused at a young age may later develop fantasies

about being in control and taking revenge on their original abusers or those

that represent them. Fantasy is often the reason why an offender commits
his

or her crimes in the same way with the same modus operandi every time.

This is because the offender is acting out the fantasy each time that he or
she

commits a crime. Fantasies may be sexual or they may be about power and

control or a combination of various fantasies.’

Earlier in the trial, it was heard that flaying a hare had brought Chané

emotional relief as a child and young teenager. In the months before the

murder, the couple had flayed kittens.

‘The presence of a fantasy underlying the crime often leads to trial runs as

the offender begins to act out the fantasy.’

Labuschagne noted that Chané’s sketches depicted a face with the mouth

stitched closed – they were obviously similar to the manner in which

Michael

van Eck’s mouth had been mutilated with needle and thread.

‘Similarly, in her writing, she states – in a poem titled “The Seven Deadly

Sins” – and I quote: “I will tear their faces off to see the truth.” In this case,

the deceased’s face was removed and kept in the freezer. The presence of
the

fantasy also means that the crime was pre-planned. This was evident in the

text messages exchanged between the couple.’

Labuschagne said that Chané had revealed to Detective Lynda Steyn that it

had been her dream since childhood to kill someone and remove their skin.

‘This is also reflected in one of her diary entries: “Well, I woke up this

morning and realised I had nothing to wear. So I thought for a while and

came up with an idea that will change the world forever. I remembered I
had
some old material in the back of my cupboard, I think it is called skin. So

since I had some time to spare I stitched that skin together forming a suit. It

was quite a tight fit so I had to stitch it to my flesh otherwise it will slip off

and that could get quite messy.” It can be said that reality imitated art,’

Labuschagne explained.

‘Trial runs are common occurrences with serial offenders such as serial

rapists and serial murderers, specifically where there is an underlying

fantasy

that the offender wishes to act out. These trials increase in severity leading
up

to the first attempt at the actual crime [that was] envisaged all along. The

abuse of animals is sometimes noted in the childhood of serial murderers.’

South Africa has seen its fair share of animal abuse cases, many of which

make newspaper headlines. Dog fights, cultural practices of slaughtering

livestock in residential areas, allegations of bestiality, the use of firecrackers

and, in more recent years, global crazes such as so-called ‘fish porn’, where

fish are pierced under stiletto heels, have all been in the news. Chané and

Maartens did not have much to say about the flaying and crucifixion of the

kittens. They had just been ‘trial runs’ for their ultimate goal – killing a

human being.

Labuschagne dubbed this a ‘graduation hypothesis’.

‘Violent offenders are more likely than non-violent offenders to have

committed acts of animal cruelty, and the manner in which the violent

offenders abused animals resemble the methods used to commit violent acts

towards humans,’ he told the court.

He went on to explain the four types of criminal mutilation as established

by Jovan Rajs and his Swedish co-researchers:

The motive of defensive mutilation is to dispose of the body and delay

identification. This is sometimes referred to as dismemberment. It could

involve the removal of the victim’s arms, hands, legs or head. This is not to

be confused with the defensive wound, which are wounds to the extremities

when the victim tries to ward off the weapon.

Labuschagne noted that although Michael van Eck’s body was

dismembered to fit into the shallow grave, his head, right arm and left foot

were taken home with the killers, for Chané to keep the body parts to flay
and

preserve as souvenirs or trophies.

In aggressive mutilation the murder is brought about by rage and is

followed by the mutilation of the body in areas such as the face and
genitals.

Such wounds tend to be more random and without any apparent practical

purpose. This is often referred to as overkill.

Maartens was the one responsible for the majority of the stab wounds.

Michael had in excess of 30 penetrating wounds, a reflection of Maartens’

frenzied state at the time of the murder.

Offensive mutilation is an urge to kill and carry out sexual activities with

dead bodies, prior to sub-mutilation, or the sexually sadistic need to carry

out

sexual activities while inflicting pain or injuries on a living person, which

may continue after death.

‘In the matter before court, although the deceased was not fully clothed,

there did not appear to be a sexual theme to the murder,’ Labuschagne

noted.

Macromanic mutilation, related to necrophilia, is a sexual preoccupation

with bodies or for the purpose of using body parts as a trophy or souvenir.

The couple did keep body parts for trophy purposes, including Michael’s

ears, eyes and bones. In fantasy-based, psychologically motivated crimes,

offenders keep trophies and souvenirs that remind them of the crime. The

couple kept some of Michael’s personal items, including his wallet and
CDs.

These can also be seen as souvenirs.

Chané also kept newspaper clippings about the case. Labuschagne

explained that these trophies and souvenirs allow the offender to try to
relive

the event to some extent.

‘For some or other reason the accused copied one of the news articles in

her own handwriting. What is the significance of that?’ De Nysschen asked.

‘It might just be that she wanted to personalise it, but I would be

speculating,’ Labuschagne replied.

Although the couple had only committed the one murder, the possibility

that they would have committed even more was explored in depth.

Labuschagne’s words confirmed that this fear was not unfounded.

‘Serial murder is defined as occurring when an offender commits a second

murder and the motive is an inner-psychological one. Serial murder is a

psychologically motivated crime. Fantasies and trial runs are often present
in

serial murders, as are mutilation of the victim’s body and the keeping of

trophies. These features were all present in the matter before court. What is
of

further concern is the presence of collateral evidence in the accuseds’

residence. Books about the well-known American serial killer Richard

Ramirez and others.’

Labuschagne referred to Chané’s handmade business cards found by the

police in their garden flat. These read:

C. van Heerden

South African Department of Forensic Psychology

Ramirez Road.

Labuschagne focused on how Chané had managed to lure the naive Michael

van Eck to the graveyard, the con story being a common characteristic of

serial murderers. Although Chané never admitted in detail what she and

Michael had discussed over 2Go – whether she had promised him sex in the

‘privacy’ of the cemetery – one thing is for sure: Michael would never have

gone to the graveyard if he knew he was to be brutally murdered.

Labuschagne pointed out the consistencies this single murder had with the

murders committed by the notorious American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

‘As Dahmer got older and more intrigued, he began to catch and kill

animals for examination. Jeffrey would remove the skin of animals, soak

their bones in acid and mount their heads on stakes. As it was discovered

later, this gruesome behaviour would be replicated in [his treatment of]

humans in his small apartment in Milwaukee.

‘In 1978 he killed the first of his 16 victims during a four-year murder

rampage. This active murder made Jeffrey feel good and motivated him to

kill again. The majority of the murders involved extreme mutilation of the
bodies, as he had done with the animals. He would rape the victims either

prior to or after killing them. Dahmer would also remove the skin and meat

from the bones, clean the bones with acid and eat the meat. Furthermore, he

would de-flesh his victims in a large boiler, thus disposing of the remains he

did not want. It was evident [that] he had begun to live out his early
fantasies

of experimentation on animals. ’33

‘Now we know that, to date, the fourth vertebra of the deceased’s neck is

still missing. The accused does not want to disclose where this piece is or

what became of it. Any comment?’ De Nysschen asked Labuschagne.

‘There are various possibilities. I do not think I have enough information to

say with any certainty which is most likely, though … But the odds that
they

merely threw it away are remote; they kept everything else they wanted and

what they did not want, they left at the graveyard. Everything appears to
have

been either neatly packaged together back at the house or in the shallow

grave, either buried in a plastic bag or kept in the fridge. So perhaps one

would expect that with the care and precision with which the crime was

committed, that body parts would not have been lost, but I cannot rule out
the
possibility that it got lost in the process. It was dark.’

He continued by saying that Chané could be placed in the category of

people who exhibited the warning signs and had the potential to commit

serial murder if not arrested.

‘I am therefore of the opinion that the accused poses a real threat to society

and, if afforded the opportunity, she would reoffend in a similar manner. I

am

of the opinion that, from a psychological point of view, the accused should
be

managed as a serial murderer.’

‘You heard the evidence of the social worker, Mrs Vergottini?’ De

Nysschen asked.

‘Yes.’

‘She testified that the accused verbalised that she did not get the “kick”

that she thought she would get from this murder.’

‘That is correct.’

‘What then is the possibility that she would murder again to get this kick?’

‘If one looks at it from a serial point of view,’ Labuschagne replied, ‘these

offenders often hope to get something out of committing a crime. As we’ve

said: the crime is the reward. Sometimes it does give them what they want,
which is why they repeat it a second time and, later, a third time. Other
times

it does not give them quite what they want, which is also why they try it

again and again, as they are trying it in a perhaps more perfect way to
achieve

the fantasy.’

De Nysschen: ‘In the case of serial killer Johan Nel – and I want you to

comment on this – your predecessor, Dr Micki Pistorius, testified [that] a

serial killer, for all practical purposes, cannot be rehabilitated.’

‘I would share that sentiment,’ Labuschagne concurred. ‘Besides Nel, there

have been other incidences where a person has been released after the first

crime, such as attempted rape and, after sentence, commits numerous

murders. The risk for society is too great to take the chance and it is a

sentiment shared by my colleagues overseas.’

De Nysschen: ‘What makes this case very significant is that we have a pair

of offenders. In the greatest majority of serial murders, you have a single

person committing these crimes.’

Labuschagne: ‘Out of the over 100 serial murderers we have had, maybe

five or six were teams, or, in other words, two suspects were involved.’

De Nysschen: ‘Can we infer [that] if you take one of the two away that the
crimes will not be repeated, or is there no guarantee that that would
happen?’

Labuschagne: ‘In many of the teams of serial murderers that I have

interviewed, there is normally one obviously dominant and one very

submissive personality. In all likelihood, the dominant one would have

committed murder irrespective of whether they had found a partner or not.

One can argue that the submissive one might never have gone that far,

although they had those fantasies.

‘In this particular case I have listened to the evidence and, with insight into

the docket, it seems that there was a much deeper level of involvement in
the

crime on the part of Chané, which for me makes it different from the typical

team-murder scenario. I say this because we have two individuals who had

their personal fantasies and who then really looked at each other as [an]

assistant to act out each of their own fantasies, so it is not really one person

who contaminated the other, who [did not have a] fantasy. They each had,

over years, developed their individual fantasies.’

De Nysschen was adamant: Chané was a danger to society and should be

permanently removed. ‘Would you agree with my sentiment that the

accused

before the court should be classified as a dangerous criminal and be

sentenced accordingly so that we can be afforded the opportunity in time to

revisit this sentence without giving Correctional Services carte blanche to

deal with her as they want?’

‘I agree,’ Labuschagne said. ‘In fact, we actually help train the

Correctional Services psychologists and parole-board members. What we

have often found is that they have very little insight [into] the actual crime

when it comes to the parole hearing. At the moment we have 4 000 life-

sentenced prisoners who were sentenced between 1994 and 2004, who,

according to the constitutional ruling, must be given a parole hearing now at

13 years and four months. Among them are serial murderers. Even the

psychologists on these panels have no idea what these individuals have

done.

As we have seen today, one murderer is very different [from] the next.’

He said that the parole board should realise that there is a very big

difference between someone killing a stranger they had met on the internet,

having lured him to his death, and a husband who kills his wife in a rage

when he finds her in bed with his neighbour. Both are murderers, but they

have very, very different characteristics. One has a much greater risk of

repeating the crime.

‘Thank you, M’lord, I have no further questions,’ De Nysschen said,

turning to the judge.

Advocate Leona Smit stood up to cross-examine: ‘Doctor Labuschagne,

there are certain aspects in your report that the accused does not agree with.

You say the accused stated to Detective Warrant Officer Steyn that since she

was a child it was her dream to kill someone and remove their skin. This is

specifically denied by the accused. She said she has never told that to

anybody and it was never her dream or fantasy to kill anybody. It was her

partner Maartens’ fantasy to kill.’

‘Yes,’ Labuschagne concurred, ‘I have heard over the last few days what

their individual fantasies were. She wanted to skin and he wanted to kill.
The

statement was obtained from Officer Steyn. But one can also argue that

skinning of an individual would very likely imply the death of that

individual

at some point.’

‘Yes, [but] not necessarily the killing. Is it correct that you never had an

interview or any interaction with the accused?’

‘That is correct.’

‘You also had no interview with Maartens,’ Smit said.

‘That is correct.’

‘And no interview or interaction or interview with the family members or

anyone close to the accused?’

‘That is correct.’

‘Professor Louw testified that, from a psychological point of view, future

human behaviour cannot be predicted accurately. Do you agree with that?’

‘I agree [that] we can never accurately, 100 per cent, say what somebody is

going to do; we have to look at the risk factors and say, well, we believe
there

is more likely a chance than not to go a particular way.’

‘Doctor, I must tell you [that] I find it quite surprising that you can come to

a conclusion where you say the accused is a threat to society and, if

afforded

the opportunity, she would reoffend in a similar matter. That you can come
to

that conclusion without interviewing her.’

Labuschagne’s piercing eyes focused sharply on Smit’s.

Labuschagne: ‘My report is based on my experience with these types of

cases. I have interviewed different types of offenders who have committed

various types of crimes over many years. I have in my interviews with them

assessed their risk to society and, based on what I have seen in this case file

and all the information sources at my disposal, that is the opinion I came
to.’
Smit: ‘Have you ever been involved in a similar matter where there was

skinning, and similar skinning to what is involved in this case?’

Labuschagne: ‘Yes, I had one particular case in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

It was cannibalism, where the accused removed the skin of the deceased

person in a similar fashion.’

Smit: ‘Do you agree with Professor Louw that it is a very rare form of

crime, even internationally, as he suggested?’

Labuschagne: ‘That is correct.’

Smit: ‘There is just something I want to clear up with you. You referred to

signs of aggressive mutilation and that the deceased had in excess of 30

penetrating wounds. It is common cause between the state and the defence

that these, except for three wounds, were inflicted by Accused 2, not by the

accused before court. Can you comment on that?’

Labuschagne: ‘No.’

‘Thank you, M’lord. I have no further questions,’ said Smit confidently.

Peering over his glasses, Judge Albert Kruger looked perplexed as he again

studied Labuschagne’s report.

‘Brigadier Labuschagne, you used this marvellous passive form of writing,

which I would have thought would be banned in reports. On page one you

say a request was granted but was denied. By whom?’

‘M’lord, originally the request for myself to see the accused …’

‘To whom?’ Kruger interrupted.

‘I beg you, M’lord?’

‘To whom granted and by who refused?’

‘I made the request to Advocate de Nysschen. He arranged a date when the

defence would be consulting with the accused in prison. I travelled to

Kroonstad and, as we arrived, we were telephonically informed that the

accused refused to see me.’

‘That is all I need to know, thank you. Witness excused,’ said the judge.

Satisfied.

20

The grave murder

2 April 2011, 20:40

Michael swiftly made his way through the quiet, dimly lit streets of Bedelia.

Once in Stateway, he pressed his foot hard on the accelerator as he headed

out of the city towards the R30. The city lights stretched out like a runway

and he felt a pang of guilt as he drove further and further in the opposite

direction to St Helena, where he had told his mother he was going. He

slipped in a CD and swallowed hard as the voice of Annie Lennox of the

Eurythmics blared through the speakers.

He turned up the volume and kept going, fuelled by the thrill of meeting a

mysterious girl. The city lights faded behind him as he headed for the

cemetery. At the T-junction he looked out for oncoming traffic before

turning

right onto the R30 in the direction of Odendaalsrus. His entire life he had

played it safe. What the hell. Lost in the music again, he switched his

headlights on bright, dimming them now and again as the odd vehicle

approached from the opposite direction, heading towards the city lights.

The Peugeot’s headlights swept across the bumpy parking lot of the

Welkom cemetery. Driving past the empty parking bays, he caught a

glimpse

of a black-haired girl in the shadows. He pulled up near the closed boom

gate. Wearing a little white dress, the girl looked angelic where she stood

waiting in front of the chapel.

But Michael could feel his bravado evaporate. As he parked his car and

switched off the lights, he was confronted by the eerie darkness. Feeling

uneasy and undecided, he was unable to bring himself to take the keys from

the ignition. He felt pearls of sweat forming on his forehead. With the
engine

still running, he sat dead still for several minutes. What the hell was he

doing?
The full moon shone on Chané van Heerden’s small frame where she stood

waiting. She felt both elated and sick to her stomach. What on earth was she

going to say to this guy? She hated small talk. It comforted her to know she

was not alone in this. Just get it over with, she told herself.

Michael could not make himself get out of the car. Should he leave now?

Confess that this was all a big mistake?

With her pale kneecaps and arms showing, her long, shiny black hair

trailing behind her, the girl walked up to the car. She looked as if she was

floating. He saw a half-moon smile appear across her face as she stopped at

the window.

‘Hey,’ she said sweetly, almost nervously.

‘Hey,’ he said, still unable to move. It comforted him to know that she also

seemed tense. Here she was. The girl he had been chatting to had kept her

end of the bargain.

A silence fell between them. They had only met online two days before.

He was undecided about what to say or do next. Their exchanges had been

flirtatious and casual up to that point. But he knew nothing about her.

Chané grew anxious. The adrenalin was pumping. No. She did not want

him to change his mind and leave. They had come too far. Still smiling, she

reassured him, touching his arm, coaxing him out of the car.
Michael opened the door, closed it behind him and walked with her.

Holding his hand, she led him to the chapel, where their romantic spot had

been laid out with great care – a bottle of wine, a couple of glasses and
some

white candles, burning fitfully despite the warm and windless night. The

smell was of smoky wax mixed with sweet perfume.

Chané was relieved when Michael began to talk, nervously exchanging

pleasantries and filling the awkward silences. He asked her about herself.
She

hated that. Nevertheless, she told him about her work, her art. She looked at

his face.

He poured them some wine and took a big swig, tasting the acidic

sweetness of the alcohol. It was horrible, but he instantly felt more relaxed.

Chané hid her anxiety well. She responded sweetly to his questions, and

even asked him about his work. The few minutes were beginning to feel
like

hours.

He noticed her fingernails, which were painted black. Her look was a

contrast to the tall, well-manicured girls he normally dated. With their backs

to the audience of graves, Michael studied her further. Her lips were full on

her fine features. He felt aroused by her small breasts underneath the thin
fabric of the dress. After another swig, he pulled in towards her. His lips
were

barely touching hers when the silence was broken by a sound coming from

behind them. Both Michael and Chané jumped.

‘What the fuck was that?’ he said loudly. He leapt up to investigate. Like

an animal emerging from its hiding place, his attacker pounced. Unarmed
and

unprepared, Michael was overcome with shock and fear as the first jab hit

him. At first he felt nothing, the shock numbing what was happening.

The blade of the hunting knife flashed in the moonlight as it came at him

again and again. Viciously. Incessantly.

Run.

Michael darted as fast as he could towards his vehicle.

God help me.

He kept on running, but his hunter was right on his heels.

‘Faster!’ he told himself, but he fell as the huntsman slashed at his legs,

disabling him.

He spun around, shielding his head with his hands as he tried to fend off

the stabbing maniac that was Maartens van der Merwe. Determined to

survive, Michael launched into a tackle in a desperate attempt to disarm his

attacker. Maartens fiercely cut at Michael’s hands, then two stabs that sliced
open both corners of Michael’s lower lip. Michael was head to head with

Maartens now, embroiled in a stronghold like two horned wildebeest.

Maartens realised he was losing control of the situation. Michael’s

adrenalin-fuelled power had almost succeeded in unbalancing him.

‘Fuck, Chané! Help! Grab a knife!’ Maartens screamed.

Stoically watching from the sidelines, Chané had not expected this turn of

events. This was not part of the plan.

Digging deep in her black backpack with its printed white skeletons, she

grabbed the butcher’s knife they had packed for the second phase. But now

she had to intervene. Her fingers wrapped skilfully around the handle as she

rushed to Maartens’ aid.

The silent audience of graves watched as she plunged the knife into

Michael’s back.

The blows came down – hard and repeatedly.

One. Two. Three.

Michael cried in pain as he began to drop to his knees.

Grabbing Michael by the top of his shirt, Maartens head-butted him, hard.

Still Michael did not lose consciousness. Adrenalin-fuelled aggression

swept

over Maartens as he went into a stabbing rage, aiming at Michael’s chest.

Another jab made a skewed cut down Michael’s left cheek from under his

eye to the top of his lip.

Now bleeding profusely and in excruciating agony, Michael gave up. His

fighting power was exhausted. It was all over.

‘Oh God,’ he wailed. ‘Please, please just kill me,’ he begged Maartens.

Maartens stopped. Breathing heavily, he snapped out of his frenzy. He

cocked his head to the side. ‘Would you like to pray first?’ he asked.

Chané took shelter near the chapel. Like the time Maartens had killed the

kitten, she could not take the thumping and crying, the violent stabbing. She

walked to where she could not hear Michael’s last words and waited for it
to

be over.

Now on his knees, Michael closed his eyes.

The stone-faced audience wept.

Chané watched as Maartens slit Michael’s throat and his body flopped

lifelessly to the side.

Maartens wiped his hands on his trousers. He had done it.

They gathered Michael’s belongings – his gold-framed glasses and wallet,

which contained a wad of cash. They considered it a bonus for their efforts.

Without saying a word, they got to work, teaming up to drag their victim’s
body away from the boom gate to the other side of the Jewish chapel, where

Maartens was hiding earlier. He held the torch while he watched Chané

feverishly trying to cut off Michael’s head.

As she struggled to cut through the bone, her small frame grew tired. She

cut and cut and cut, without any success.

Maartens lovingly passed on the torch, took the knife from her shaking

hands and finished what she had started.

Suddenly a car pulled into the cemetery.

‘What the fu—’ Maartens said as he and Chané fell down flat among the

tall grass.

A vehicle had parked near Michael’s Peugeot. They could see the torch

light searching through the closed windows. The man stopped near the
boom

gate. They could hear him calling. Maartens’ heart thumped in his throat as

he held Chané close to him.

But the man did not come nearer. Instead, he turned around, got back into

his car and drove away. Chané smiled. They got up and started dragging

Michael’s body along the path towards the pine trees. With the knives and

spoons they had brought along, they dug a shallow grave. Out of breath,
they

sat back to judge whether it was big enough.

But the headless corpse was too large.

Maartens cut off the legs under the knees. This was not an easy job and,

sweating profusely, he, too, struggled to cut through the bone. Then he cut
off

the right arm and left foot. Chané wanted to take these along. With renewed

energy, she took the limbs from Maartens. They covered their handiwork

with soil, sticks and dry grass, and walked away.

Maartens held open the black plastic bags they had packed as part of their

‘kit’. Chané placed their victim’s head, hand and foot inside.

As Maartens lifted Michael’s limbs into the boot of his car, the gravity of

what he had done came down on him like a ton of bricks. He felt like

retching. He shuddered and was overcome with emotion. It became

apparent

that he was unable to drive.

Chané got in behind the wheel. She did not have a driver’s licence. With

little driving experience, she nevertheless managed to start the car and
switch

on the lights. The CD player came back on, and again the sound of the

Eurythmics filled the night air. ‘Sweet dreams are made of this …’

Burning the clutch, the tyres screeched on the tar as Chané reversed and

then drove off. Unlike Maartens, she felt nothing.

They first stopped at home, where they unloaded the harvested body parts

and all of Michael’s belongings. Then they got back into the car. Chané was

careful not to attract any attention. This time it was easier for her to get the

engine started. While driving into the city, the couple decided to abandon

their original plan, which was to push the vehicle into a nearby dam.
Instead,

they headed to a taxi rank, where they decided to leave the keys in the

ignition, relying on it being an easy temptation. This was South Africa, after

all, with criminals everywhere. They walked back home in silence through

the deserted streets. They were exhausted.

It was already well into the early hours of Sunday morning by the time

they reached their flat. Chané smiled contentedly as she imploded on the

couch. Maartens, who had since got a hold of himself, walked up to her and

took both her hands in his.

Apart from the day he’d had to meet Chané’s parents, he had never been as

nervous in his life. Chané got up and faced him where they stood in the

middle of their apartment.

‘Will you marry me?’ he asked, his voice trembling.

Chané felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest.

‘Yes!’ she said without blinking or hesitating, and embraced him.

After chatting for a little while about their future, they decided to wash up

and get some rest. But first, before the break of day could expose their
covert

activities, they washed Michael’s severed foot and arm with bleach and

placed the limbs in black bags along with some of his clothing. Maartens

went into the garden to bury them for Chané’s later use. Chané placed

Michael’s head on some plastic and put it in the fridge for the time being.

Maartens did not feel any different after his first kill, but his and Chané’s

love was affirmed. He was going to marry the woman of his dreams. Now
he

just had to ask her father for her hand and save up for an engagement ring.

At sunset that Sunday, Chané got up well rested after sleeping off the

events of the night before. Maartens settled down in front of his computer

while Chané prepared her work space, the blue toolbox with the rusted but

perfectly sharp blades nearby. She held Michael’s head with both hands and

then carefully put it down in front of her. She lifted the blade as if it were a

scalpel and, beginning at the centre of his forehead, began to cut through
the

soft but slightly leathery skin with the precision of a forensic surgeon.

Maartens assisted her by filming the procedure – Chané wanted to watch it

again and again so that she could relive the experience. She wanted to learn
how to perfect her technique. She worked right through the night.

4 April 2011

Maartens was elated when he left for work on the Monday morning, but

Chané phoned in sick. She had a job to finish. At 08:37, Maartens made the

announcement on Facebook: Maartens van der Merwe and Chané van

Heerden were now engaged.

Maartens’ dad, Francois, did not sense anything different about his son’s

behaviour or notice any injuries to his body or on his face. Father and son
did

not spend much time together that day, as both were focused on their

individual tasks. Maartens went to town to buy supplies for the business.
On

the way, he phoned Chané’s father to arrange to meet that evening.

That night, at Mike’s Kitchen restaurant, Maartens asked Jacques van

Heerden for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Jacques liked the quiet, well-

mannered, intelligent young man. He told him to always treat his daughter

with the respect she deserved.

On that Monday night, while Maartens was out with her father, Chané

switched on her phone for a short while when an SMS from her sister came

through. She was in the middle of skinning her victim’s face.

Liezel: Hi susa. Mama says you’re engaged. Congratulations! Wish I was
there to

enjoy it with you. Good luck breaking the news to dad … Let me know how
things

are pls. Ai, I miss you so much. Tell Maartens also I say congrats. I think
you fit

each other so well. Enjoy ur eve further. I love u!

Chané smiled. She left what she was doing to respond.

Chané: Hey my susa, thank you so much, im very happy, he is great and i
love him

so much :-) I actually let you kno first on fb. lol. papa is very happy for us. i
miss u

just as much, wish u were here with me, but will update u on all the details
as it

happened. love u lots. mwa mwa

She looked at her handiwork, switched off her cellphone and continued with

her artistic endeavour through the night.34 Once she was done, Maartens
went

to bury Michael’s skull in the garden with the rest of his missing limbs.

5 April 2011

Late on Tuesday afternoon, Chané phoned Maartens. She was near Game.
He

was still at work. She informed him that the hospital had phoned and said a
girl had been in a car crash, and Chané’s name and cellphone number were

found among her possessions. They wanted Chané to identify the victim.

Later, Maartens told police that Chané was immediatly suspicious. She did

not have any friends. Although they suspected that it was a police set-up,
they

decided to go anyway. There was no point in running, because what kind of

life would that be? Still, they did not expect to be caught. Maartens met

Chané in the parking lot in front of the hospital. They discussed the matter

again and decided that if it was indeed the police, they would tell the truth

from the outset. The plan was that they would kill themselves if they were

caught.

Maartens later told police that he could not recall the events of that

particular day, the day of Michael van Eck’s murder, only bits and pieces
that

came back to haunt him in his dreams.

In the week after the murder, Jacques van Heerden expressed his shock

over the accusations against his daughter. ‘If my daughter screwed up and
did

this terrible thing of which she is being accused, she must bear the

consequences and be punished, but she is still so young …’ he told

Volksblad. He expressed his condolences towards the Van Eck family, but
he

felt a deep sense of loss, too. In apparent disbelief, he said to the reporter: ‘I

have been getting phone calls and SMSes from all over and everyone tells
me

what has happened here is not in line with her personality and who she is.’

About Maartens he said that he had no doubt in his mind that he was the

right man for his daughter.35 On Chané’s phone was a final SMS she never

received:

Liezel: Ag Nya, my susie. U will probably never get this sms, but kno i love
you

immensely.Wish I could hold u tight and protect you through this thing.
Know I will

love u no matter what. Strongs apie. I love u. Liezel.

Later on, a neighbour would recall a very odd thing that happened that
fateful

weekend. When Piet Botha arrived home from work that Sunday, he saw
that

the couple’s yard was teeming with cats.36 With their tails held high, the
cats

seemed to be everywhere. Botha stared in astonishment. Some of the cats

jumped onto the fence in front of the flat. He had found it very strange.

21
Throwing away the key

‘Yes, the accused before the court is a dangerous person.’

On 25 November 2011, the state called its last witness in the pre-

sentencing trial of Chané van Heerden.

Professor Merryll Vorster, a highly experienced psychiatrist, and vice-dean

of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand,

did

not mince her words.

Vorster, who wears no make-up, has short-cropped natural-brown hair and

clear, unvarnished fingernails, reinforcing her no-nonsense persona, had

two

interview sessions with Chané: one around the same time Professor Dap

Louw had seen her and again on the Monday preceding her testimony.

She came to the conclusion that Chané suffered from antisocial personality

disorder, the same condition people colloquially call psychopathology. She

attributed her diagnosis to Chané’s inability to relate to people, her

complete

lack of empathy and her difficulty in forming long-lasting relationships.

De Nysschen had his work cut out for him trying to get the state’s experts

to convince the court about the danger the young accused posed to society.

‘Why do you say that?’ De Nysschen asked Vorster when she said that
Chané was a dangerous criminal.

‘I say that from the interviews I conducted with her, and also in terms of

the behaviour which preceded the offence, the actual actions of the offence

and the subsequent events, and her lack of remorse for those actions. If I
may

add, M’lord, it is interesting that she, when I saw her on Monday, says she

now understands why people are upset about what happened. She realised

from their reaction the remorse she, perhaps, should have felt. But she also

said that she does not intrinsically feel it herself. It is an observation of how

others feel.’

De Nysschen nodded: ‘That is 100 per cent in line with what she told

Professor Louw, and I refer to the Afrikaans version: ‘Mense verwag van
my

om skuldig te voel, maar ek voel nie skuldig nie.’ (People expect me to feel

guilty, but I don’t.)

Vorster concurred.

De Nysschen: ‘According to Professor Louw and Doctor Labuschagne, the

possibility of future conduct in the same manner cannot be excluded. What

is

your point of view on that?’

Vorster: ‘I agree with that.’

‘Of course it is very difficult to put a percentage to that possibility, but

what is the significance of the fact that she verbalises the conviction: “I will

kill again. I would have killed again if I was not caught”?’

‘Well, it is the verbalisation of that that leads one to believe that she is

dangerous and represents an ongoing danger to society.’

‘And in this sense, is it not correct, professor, that this actually makes this

a very significant case, a very strange case, if I could call it that, because we

very rarely see this kind of conduct? Is that not so, where an accused says I

probably would do it again? Usually perpetrators deny that, isn’t that so?’

‘Yes, that is the very thing they try to conceal,’ Vorster agreed.

‘Now I think the question is, should the court believe her when she says

she will kill again? Can we believe her? She told it to the whole world, if I

could call it that.’

Chané had indeed told everyone that same chilling refrain. She had said it

to the police, the social worker, psychologists and Vorster.

The words: I would kill again.

Vorster found the young woman to be brutally honest.

‘It is significant that she engaged in ritualistic behaviour prior to the

offence and that the offence itself was ritualistic – and so, given that pattern

of behaviour, the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour,’

Vorster told the court.

‘But now we are in the fortunate position that we have the verbalisation

from the accused herself,’ De Nysschen said.

He asked Vorster whether Chané had just expressed the cold facts to her,

too.

‘Yes, she gave a very factual account. She did not lie about the offence.’

‘And her emotional state while conveying these facts?’

‘She was very factual, very unemotional.’

‘A social worker got the impression that it was as if she was simply telling

a story, relating bluntly simply what had happened,’ De Nysschen said.

‘Not telling a story, but simply relaying the version of the events in a

factual way without much emotion,’ Vorster replied.

‘This condition has got nothing to do with diminished responsibility or that

kind of thing?’ De Nysschen asked.

‘No, if I were to bring out a report on her criminal responsibility, I’d say

[that] she was responsible.’

De Nysschen rested his case. ‘I have no further questions, M’lord.’

Advocate Smit got up to cross-examine.

‘Professor, so what you are saying is that this antisocial personality

disorder is actually the same as being a psychopath?’

‘Yes, I am saying the psychiatric term is an antisocial personality

disorder.’

‘Is it correct that experts do not agree on that?’ said Smit.

‘I am not sure I understand the question, disagree about what, M’lord?

Whether an antisocial personality disorder is a psychopath?’

‘Yes.’

‘No, that is not correct.’

‘According to what I read, some experts believe that a psychopath is a

more extreme form of antisocial personality disorder?’ Smit asked.

Vorster: ‘No, any kind of personality disorder will have degrees. So you

may find somebody who has only got traits of antisocial personality
disorder

(most people have probably got a few traits), and then you have the
disorder.

So there would be degrees; a severe degree would qualify as a psychopath.

It

is an alternate term that is quite loosely used.’

Smit: ‘Are you saying it is synonym for the same?’

Vorster: ‘The psychiatric diagnostic term is an antisocial personality

disorder. But when people talk loosely, they will talk about psychopaths.’

Smit: ‘What criteria are used to diagnose somebody with an antisocial

personality disorder?’

Vorster: ‘If one looks at the history of the person, their relationship history,

their work history … If there has been an offence, one looks at the ability to

relate to other people as very important. So there is a whole process of

coming to the conclusion that an individual is or is not, or does not have, an

antisocial personality disorder.’

Smit: ‘Can you perhaps explain to the court which traits must be present

for a person to be diagnosed with this disorder?’

Vorster: ‘The most important trait would be the inability to relate to other

people. Such people often do not have friends; they have poor relationships

with their family members; they often have a poor work record because
they

do not have a sense of responsibility. They may engage in irresponsible acts

because they do not care about the consequences. But if one thinks of all

these criteria, it all boils down to one thing – the inability to relate to other

people. There are many theories as to why this comes about – one being
poor

bonding as an infant in early childhood.’

Smit: ‘Can a troubled childhood contribute to this condition?’

Vorster: ‘A troubled childhood often develops into this condition. So if

you have poor attachment to a parental figure, then you have poor
behaviour

as a child. If you then, in addition, perhaps have physical or emotional

abuse,

which of course comes from the very individual the child did not attach to,
it

all contributes to the person gradually developing what we call an antisocial

personality disorder. This is usually not diagnosed till the age of 18. You
may

get children that do not develop antisocial personality disorders. But usually

when you are looking at somebody who does have it, you’d find those

factors.’

‘Not all people with this disorder are dangerous, is that correct?’ Smit

asked.

‘No. But there was, in fact, an old term which has fallen away with modern

classifications, but those are the people who do not work and do not have

good relationships, who do not keep friends. They usually steal and go to
jail

often, but they are never aggressive. But they’d also be suffering from an

antisocial personality disorder. The danger does not flow from the
diagnosis.

The danger flows from the acts.’

‘Professor, what really stood out for me with the accused was the feelings

she had for her co-accused. Did you also pick that up? She even said during

her interview with you that she’d give up her own life for him. Does that
not

strike you as not fitting with what you’ve just told this court?’

‘This is certainly a relationship that is very poor. We have here two people

together with problems and they have shared problems, and the sharing of

these problems has led to the trouble they are in now. It was certainly not a

relationship to either’s advantage. But yes, they are very much attached to

each other. It has not been a long-term relationship, one must keep that in

mind. So whether it would have continued if this – the offences – had not

occurred, of that I’m not so sure. It certainly was a very short, intense

relationship that they had.’

‘But my question was,’ said Smit, ‘to me it does not seem to fit in with

what you’ve explained now about this disorder.’

‘It is not a long-term relationship. Such individuals are not able to maintain

long-term relationships.’

‘Is it not true that in psychopaths or people with this disorder one of the

characteristics is that they are not honest?’ Smit asked.

‘Yes, they often lie and they are not honest …’

‘And yet the accused is extremely honest, [even] to her own detriment?’

‘That is true,’ Vorster agreed. ‘They certainly, once they were arrested,

have been. They were very co-operative and honest about what they did and

they did not try to conceal any of the facts and have indeed pleaded guilty.’

‘She even acknowledged that she would have done it again if they were not

caught, even though it was not necessary for her to say that. Does that fit in

with the disorder?’ Smit asked.

‘It does not, and the only way you would be able to explain it is to say

there is an element of boastfulness.’

‘That was not the testimony of the social worker, Ms Vergottini, or

Professor Dap Louw, that she is boastful,’ Smit pointed out.

‘Well, I cannot speak for what they said; I was not here.’

‘Professor Louw’s testimony was also that she does not suffer from this

disorder,’ Smit explained. ‘He said there is an element, that she does not

show remorse, but that not all the criteria were met. So she cannot be. In his

opinion, that is not what she is.’

‘I cannot comment on what he did and what he did not say. He is a

psychologist, I am a psychiatrist. We have different jobs.’

Smit continued: ‘He also testified about the discrepancy between what one

sees with her as a person and this horrible deed that she has done. Did you
also find that?’

‘M’lord,’ Vorster said, ‘if I could maybe digress here a little and say before

this court that she has engaged in a number of ritualistic acts, which
involved

skinning, initially of animals and subsequently of a human. So for her, that

act is not of killing somebody as such, or taking pleasure in killing

somebody, but it is actually a means to an end to obtain material for

skinning.

The deceased was merely an object to her. So when one interviews the

accused before court, one is struck by the fact that she does not look like an

aggressive person. She is co-operative, soft-spoken, and I think one must

bear

in mind that the motive behind this killing was obtaining material in order
to

do ritualistic skinning.’

‘She has no violent behaviour, except for the skinning,’ Smit emphasised.

‘She has no history of any violent offences, and in these consultations she
has

no history of any aggression or violence? Is that correct?’

Vorster: ‘As I’ve just said, M’lord, her desire and what pleases her is to

skin. She has killed animals in the past in order to get their bodies to skin.

She has killed a person to have his head for skinning. So you cannot say she
is not aggressive in that form of behaviour. She has also self-mutilated,
which

is a form of violence to the self. So I would not agree that she has no history

of being aggressive, and that is what makes her a dangerous person. She
said

to me she would certainly kill again to obtain material for skinning. That is

her motive for committing the offences.’

‘Her testimony in this court is indeed that her co-accused’s fantasy was the

killing; it was not her fantasy?’ Smit insisted.

Vorster stated that she was involved in Maartens’ trial as well.

Smit continued: ‘The social worker testified [that] she is of the opinion

[that] the accused would not have committed this crime on her own and that

she would not commit a similar crime in future on her own. Are you also of

that opinion?’

‘No, I’m not sure I agree with that,’ Vorster said. ‘I accept that she is

young and she is very small and so she does not have the physical capacity
to

kill somebody. But I think if she was sufficiently motivated, she would have

found another way to mobilise somebody in order to kill them. I am not

convinced that the mere addition of the co-accused caused this offence. She

committed ritual killings of animals prior to meeting the co-accused. So I

guess what I’m saying is that I would have expected an escalation of that

behaviour.’

Smit probed further: ‘I’ve read [that] in some people the severity of the

symptoms becomes less with age. It peaks in the twenties and then in the

forties it tapers off. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, it is,’ Vorster agreed. ‘She is only 21 now. One would expect an

increase in symptoms and, as one gets to one’s forties or fifties, there is

often

what one calls a burnout of severity of the symptoms. It may be a lack of

energy, a lack of motivation, which has been found. I saw the accused the

first time for an hour, the second time for about half an hour. I did not

measure per minute. It is not my practice to do so. I see people until I am

satisfied with my findings.’

‘The first consultation you had with her was actually for you to gather

collateral information about the co-accused?’ Smit asked.

‘Correct. It was not [to assess her].’

‘Now, in order to assess her, your consultation lasted half an hour?’

Vorster demurred: ‘No, one cannot negate the first time I interviewed her. I

am a psychiatrist. When I interview people, I talk to them for half an hour,

an

hour. At the same time I’m evaluating their pathology, and certainly also in
the instance of this case. Even though it was collateral, I was certainly able
to

make an evaluation of her at the time.’

‘Were those consultations enough to make a diagnosis of her [having] this

disorder?’ Smit asked.

‘Absolutely. In addition, I had the reports of the social worker, Professor

Louw and the docket.’

‘Doctor, what treatment would you recommend for the accused?’

‘I’d say some kind of cognitive behavioural therapy so that she stops

enjoying ritualistic types of activities. One would have to try to do

something

in prison. And I am sure she will go to prison, so she could have some kind
of

individual psychotherapy. She is certainly not a candidate for medication.

Not at all.’

‘No medication?’ Smit asked. ‘Would you say her prognosis is good?’

‘No. And no, I do not think her prognosis is good.’

‘And the chance that she may be rehabilitated?’

‘I think it is poor,’ Vorster said.

‘Why?’ Smit asked.

‘Because she commenced with her ritualistic behaviour from a young age
and she derived such pleasure from it.’

‘Even with therapy? Intensive therapy?’ Smit asked again.

‘M’lord,’ Vorster said, ‘I think one can never write off people and that one

should always try, but I am personally not optimistic about recovery. That

does not mean if I was working at prison, I’d not still try, though.’

22

A cry for help – or not?

Advocate Smit began her final arguments well aware that her young client

was facing a lifetime behind bars. She knew, too, that she was going to face

an uphill battle in convincing Judge Kruger that her client’s childhood

history, however troubled and dysfunctional, however strange and unhappy,

could be considered a mitigating circumstance.

But that was all she had.

Chané was a first offender who had pleaded guilty from the outset. She

was a youthful 21 years old, had played open cards with the police and had

admitted her part in the offence.

It was, however, clear that she had deep-rooted psychological problems,

even if it was debatable whether there was a name for them.

‘M’lord,’ Smit began, ‘the state has already indicated their intent to request
that the accused be declared a dangerous criminal in terms of section 286A
of

the Criminal Procedure Act. It is, however, my submission that this is not a

suitable sentence; it was not for this goal that this legislation was placed on

the law books.’

In South Africa, sections 286A and 286B of the Criminal Procedure Act

make provision respectively for declaring a person a dangerous criminal

and

imposing an indefinite sentence. These sections, especially the indefinite

sentence of section 286B, can be compared to Dutch Terbeschikkingstelling

(TBS) legislation and psychopath laws in other countries.

In South Africa, two-stage sentencing entails that before being granted

parole, the convicted person has to be brought before, preferably, the same

judge who imposed the sentence initially. A team of prison authorities

would

provide an assessment of whether the inmate has been rehabilitated.

According to the outcome, the judge can then impose further sentencing or

order the inmate’s release.

Smit argued that such an indefinite sentence could not be handed down

when there was a possibility that the criminal’s condition could improve to

such an extent that the person would no longer pose a danger to society.
De Nysschen shook his head. Smit soldiered on.

‘M’lord, the goal of section 286 was not to create a heavier sentence. It is

to be applied in cases where a life sentence is not applicable. M’lord, there

must at least be a possibility that the accused can at some stage no longer be

regarded as dangerous.’

Smit did not bother arguing the seriousness of the crime and the interests

of society, but was trying to prove that it would not be fair to declare her

client a dangerous criminal and perhaps hand down a heavier sentence than

life. She argued that, since the abolishment of the death penalty in South

Africa, life imprisonment, a period of 25 years without the possibility of

parole, is considered an appropriate enough sentence to effectively remove

the accused from society. She finally requested that Chané undergo
intensive

psychotherapy and any other essential treatment while in prison.

De Nysschen looked amused as he got up.

‘M’lord, I must say that was quite insightful, and I must say that was the

first time, in my colleague’s own words, that she actually asked for a
heavier

sentence than the state was intending to [ask]. But I must plead with you:

there is one very important point we must not lose sight of, and that is the
possible future dealings of this accused. To me, that is the crux of the
matter.

Whether it is life imprisonment or if it is a sentence in terms of section

286A,

the fact of the matter is [that] this court must try to determine what is the

possibility of this accused murdering again. That is the question.

‘To refer to the nature and severity of the offence, on that I am not going to

embroider further; I think it speaks for itself. It was an absolutely loathsome

crime. It screams to the heavens that two people could go so far as to lure

another person … and it is important: this crime was not committed on the

spur of the moment – the deceased was lured. He was further lured to the

graveyard, where he was very brutally murdered. He was stabbed at least 33

times with knives. He definitely did not die instantly. In fact, one cannot
state

it other than [that] he was tortured.’

‘The post-mortem gives an overview of it as internal bleeding,’ interjected

the judge.

‘Correct, M’lord, he basically bled to death.’

De Nyscchen stressed further how Michael had been dragged over 100

metres to where he was cut to pieces.

‘A person gets the idea in one’s mind of hyenas that tear apart an antelope.
He was literally cut into pieces. Now, with all due respect to my colleague,

who emphasised the fact that it was Maartens who wanted to murder and it

was actually the accused before court’s desire to skin, this is by no means a

given. With the utmost respect, how do you skin without killing? I cannot

think for one moment that a person would live very long if their face was
cut

off whilst still alive. And another important aspect: when further stabbing

[was required] to ensure the death of the deceased, the accused jumped in

without a moment’s hesitation.

‘What is [even] more insightful and important is that she was responsible

for 90 per cent of the corpse mutilation, and what makes it even more

absolutely vile and sickening is the fact that she would spend the rest of her

Sunday cutting him further apart and recording it on her cellphone. What
sick

enjoyment one gets from that I don’t know, but it is an important indicator,

an objective indicator, which connects with what the experts say. We are

dealing with a very dangerous person here.’

De Nysschen took a moment to consider the interests of society. He noted

the immense impact the murder of Michael van Eck had had on the

communities of Welkom and Virginia, and the Goldfields as a whole. He

noted the interest from overseas media. While emphasising that the
sentence

had to be fitting enough to act as a deterrent for prospective offenders, he

added that this would only be of relevance to the average murderer. And

Chané was not one’s average killer.

‘I’ll get back to the terms “serial killer” and “psychopath”, or whatever

we’ll call them. The fact of the matter is [that] these people function at a

whole other level. It will not act as a deterrent in the sentence of any other

case. A serial killer will murder again. He will start to murder and he will

carry on until he is caught and removed from society. But there is still a

deterrent for any other average person.

‘I must unfortunately say [that] it seems as if there is some kind of problem

in this community. The cases that arrive in my office in the Free State, from

Welkom and surrounds, are far ahead with respect to the degree of

loathsomeness and seriousness of the offences.

‘I’m referring to a case of a man who pleaded guilty in the High Court in

Bloemfontein after killing his girlfriend and her two young children, who

were stabbed to death like animals. In another case, a man had killed his

stepsister and her husband. He had first killed the stepsister using a spade
and

thereafter her husband, whom he brutally mutilated.’

De Nysschen congratulated Vergottini for the second time in the trial,

again remarking on her impressive report. ‘It is true – the accused did not

have a sunny upbringing. It was just one tragedy after the other. She was

humiliated, belittled and rejected. But now again, like Professor Louw
stated,

you have five children who grow up under the same circumstances, but only

one will murder. The other four would be perfectly normal. So it is not per
se

mitigating circumstances. It is not a case of the accused being sexually

molested by a man and that is why she is killing men. Something else

happened here …

‘What is even more impressive, or insightful, rather, is that on face value

she looks like a pretty little girl. She weighs about 52 kilograms. She is

physically small. Some might even find her charming and attractive. But if

we look past this facade, M’lord, we are dealing here with a monster. And I

want to emphasise it again: we are dealing with a monster that will kill
again

and again.’

De Nysschen referred again to the Nel case. This was a man who was sent

to prison for murder only to come out and escalate his murder spree.

‘[The accused] has made no secret of it that she will kill again. As soon as
she was caught, between the 2nd and 5th of April, she told detectives [that]

she’d do it again. There was no pressure on her to say this. She said this to

Warrant Officer Lynda Steyn, who was there when they discovered the
facial

skin in the freezer. That woman had to be admitted to the Bloemcare

Psychiatric Clinic just to repair her psyche after what she had witnessed.
And

the accused has verbalised this again and again.

‘I have never in my career of 22 years encountered such a case. Accused

often come to court and say “I will never do it again, please forgive me”,

even if they have a string of 20 or 30 previous convictions. But here comes

a

person who says – as if it is a cry for help – I don’t know, perhaps she is

boasting, I don’t know – but it is switching on the red warning lights.’

As if De Nysschen was trying to make sense of what had led to the act, he

admitted that he never thought Chané could have had an easy childhood.

‘I don’t think any of the experts expected anything else, because there had

to be some kind of trigger. Something has to programme a person to

commit

such sickening acts. A person does not wake up one morning and decide to

go cut off someone’s face. It doesn’t happen. A series of incidents has to

take
place. Exactly where everything went wrong, we won’t know. Most likely I

don’t think the accused herself knows. But the moment someone is

programmed to kill, that person cannot be rehabilitated. It is what Professor

Vorster says. It is what Professor Labuschagne says. The chances that that

person can come right are zero.’

De Nysschen paused, as if carefully considering what he was about to say

next.

‘One does find extraordinary cases, the Charmaine Phillips case being one.

The question about whether Phillips was a complete psychopath is very

insightful. She did not come to this court and say: “I’ll do it again.” So one

must be able to draw a distinction.’

Dubbed South Africa’s Bonnie and Clyde, the 19-year-old Phillips and her

34-year-old lover, Pieter Grundlingh, were involved in a series of murders

and armed robberies in the early 1980s. It is known that Phillips, who has

since been released on parole, married and opened a hair salon in the Free

State. She was sentenced to life while Grundlingh got the death penalty. 37

But De Nysschen knew Chané is no Charmaine Phillips, and dismissed the

so-called mitigating circumstances Smit had raised.

‘We know now that the occult or satanism was not the determining factor

here, but all the signs were there. It is true that she and her co-accused
experimented with the occult and this formed part of their rituals. But I
think

it just more a manifestation of what was happening in their sick brains: we

want to kill, we want to skin, and with that let’s throw in some of the
occults.

Also with the slaughtering of animals, cats, and the crucifixion of cats.

Although it has directly to do with the occult, it is not decisive. It just

warns,

like most of the images on their phones and computers, of very, very sick

people who investigated almost everything relating to the dark side of man,

and in that they derived pleasure and the desire to murder and to mutilate.

‘With the greatest respect, there are no mitigating circumstances. She is

young, but not that young. She is a first offender, yes. But that is not in
itself

substantial and compelling circumstances. She pleaded guilty, yes. She did

not really have a choice. M’lord, with all due respect, if the police come to

your house and they find the deceased’s body parts in your fridge, in your

back garden … you don’t really have a choice but to plead guilty. I would

really have liked to hear how she would have explained it if she had
pleaded

not guilty.

‘My colleague says [the accused] accepts responsibility, but with the
greatest respect, the accused does not know what responsibility is. You
heard

it out of the mouths of the experts, she now supposedly sees for the first
time

the impact she has had on the family of the deceased and the community.

That is how far her idea of responsibility goes.

‘The question is now: Can this court declare her a dangerous criminal? The

answer is an unequivocal yes from the side of the state, and the moment the

court comes to that finding, she must be given an indefinite sentence. That

will give us at least some insurance that when we see her back in court in a

few years’ time and psychiatric evidence is put before court, and the

psychiatrist says a miracle happened … This serial killer in the making, this

psychopath, has miraculously recovered … And then, with the utmost

respect, we’ll all say “Hallelujah, you’ve been in jail long enough, you can

go.” But the chances of that happening are very slim on the authority of
what

the experts say.’

De Nysschen requested that the court make a finding in terms of section

286A and rule that Chané returns to court only in 25 years.

‘I say 25 years, because that is what she must be sentenced to anyway.

This is not one or another far-reaching sentence like that of Bull and
Chavulla

of 50 and 30 years. She must serve 25 years, no matter how we look at it.
The

law says so.’

Judge Kruger looked deep in thought, presumably considering the alter

natives before him.

‘With life, as you say, Mr de Nysschen, you obviously sit for 25 years and

thereafter the parole board considers your release. The difference, as you
say,

with section 286 is that you come back to court and the court looks at the

psychiatric reports. To me, it looks prima facie as if 25 years would be too

long, because then you are essentially going beyond life and giving it
another

jacket. If you want a person to sit for 25 years, then you must give him a
life

sentence,’ Kruger said.

‘I think a fitting sentence will indeed be a good starting point from 25

years,’ De Nysschen pushed on.

De Nysschen said that sentencing Chané in line with section 286 would

give the community the assurance that she would be removed from society

and they would not see another case like that of Johan Nel.
‘I must plead with you that she sits for at least 20 years. The first prize

would be 25 years before we come back to court and look at her psyche

again. But the prognosis is not good.’

De Nysschen sat down feeling as if he had just run a marathon, unsure of

whether he’d won or lost.

23

Judgment Day

Judge Kruger delivered his judgment in the Chané van Heerden trial on 22

November 2011, just four days after the start of proceedings.

The defence had given the following reasons why Kruger should deviate

from the prescribed life sentence of 25 years for premeditated murder:

Her youth – Chané was only 20 years old when the murder was

committed.

She was a first-time offender.

She pleaded guilty.

She cooperated with the police.

She admitted to her part in the murder.

Her unhappy and strange childhood.

Kruger rejected all of these arguments. With a stern voice and an absence of

any sympathy or emotion, he read out his findings: ‘It is clear from Mrs
Vergottini’s report that the accused reached maturity at an early age. She
was

15 years old when she started going out with a 22-year-old. She always
chose

older men.

‘The accused’s actions were planned and showed no signs of naivety or

even youthfulness. As Professor Louw stated, the fact that she has no past

offences means nothing, as she is a self-confessed user of illegal drugs.

‘Regarding the rest of the arguments, the guilty plea was more or less

unavoidable, as the evidence against her was irrefutable. She did cooperate

with the police, but, again, she could not really do otherwise. Then,

concerning her unhappy childhood, there are a lot of people, as it appears

from the evidence, who also had such experiences but up to this point have

refrained from committing crimes.

‘This prescribed sentence is, of course, also prescribed for first offenders

and that cannot, at face value, be a mitigating circumstance.

‘All the expert evidence indicates the danger the accused poses to society.

A very real threat exists that she would commit these crimes again to satisfy

herself psychologically. Like a serial killer, as the evidence suggests, such

persons often continue these crimes in order to, in their mind, make it better

and better and to get more stimulation.’

Kruger accepted the evidence led that Chané would again conspire to kill

with Maartens in the future. If he was not available, she would find

somebody else who had the same moral outlook; someone who, like her,
had

been morally conditioned to kill and had normalised that need.

‘She and Van der Merwe entered an equal symbiotic relationship. Future

behaviour goes hand in hand with recent past behaviour,’ Kruger quoted
from

Louw’s and Vorster’s evidence.

The judge said that the following factors stood out across the evidence

delivered by the experts: that the murder, slaughtering and corpse mutilation

were planned; that the deceased could have been anybody, chosen simply to

be the object on which the accused could live out her fantasy; that there
were

elements of satanism and the occult involved, but that the accused and Van

der Merwe had created their own rituals; that there were symptoms of

psychological deviations present, like a lack of remorse, but that they were

not particularly meaningful; that the crimes were caused by psychological

motivation and not by greed or a need to rob; because psychological

motivation is not something that can reach a point of saturation, a great risk

existed that the person would do it again in an attempt to try to reach some
kind of satisfaction; the accused’s lack of remorse was worrying; Chané

realised it was something she should feel, but was unable to.

Chané stared blankly ahead as Kruger ruled: ‘The accused Chané van

Heerden is to be declared a dangerous criminal sentenced to an indefinite

prison sentence. She is to follow a range of rehabilitation programmes.

After

a life term of 20 years, she is to reappear before this very court to re-
evaluate

her sentence. If it is found that she still poses a risk to society, she will be
re-

sentenced.’

Chané got up and walked down the dark stairs to the holding cells. She did

not look back. From there, she would be transported to begin her

incarceration in a maximum-security female corrective facility, where she

will remain until she is a middle-aged woman of 41 years old.

24

Sleepwalker

Maartens van der Merwe was six years old when a dragon-like figure

appeared before him, holding the earth in its hand. The apparition told him
in

a clear voice that he was ‘giving him the world’. One day, the apparition
said,
he’d ask for the world back. The young boy felt both scared and excited by

the experience. He knew then that he was special. Throughout his childhood

he sought to relive the moment so that he could feel the way he did the first

time it happened. But he never felt the same excitement again.

Maartens was born on 15 March 1986 in Welkom, and he generally had a

happy childhood. His parents provided for him and his brother, Francois,
who

is five years his senior, to the best of their ability. Maartens never suffered

any abuse at the hands of his father or mother.

Despite his parents’ divorce while he and Francois were still young, he was

content with life. His parents were strict, but they had good values and

governed with discipline, though like any other family, they had their ups
and

downs. The Van der Merwes were church-going members of society who

attended Bible study. His father, Francois Snr, was a workaholic, who was

often absent due to his work and political commitments.

However, Maartens didn’t feel close to his mother and never felt as if he

had earned his father’s approval.

One of Maartens’ chores was to clean up the remains of the mutilated cats

killed by the family’s dogs in the yard. He was fascinated by their corpses,

and this incited his curiosity about death. Once a stray cat entered the yard
while he was there. Without thinking about it, he picked up the poor
creature

and broke its neck.

Maartens regularly experienced nocturnal enuresis, the involuntary voiding

of urine, more commonly known as sleep- or bed-wetting. He did this until

the age of 10. He was a lonely boy, mostly engaging in solitary activities,
and

the symptoms of mental illness began to manifest early in his primary-

school

years. He increasingly feared the hallucinations that haunted him.

During his early school years, he excelled academically. He was the dux

learner in his Grade 7 year at the Naudéville Primary School, where his

mother, Salomé, was the principal of the pre-primary school. Maartens did

not have a particularly close relationship with her, however. To him, she
was

mostly an absent mother figure.

In his final primary-school year, Maartens was elected as a prefect, played

first-team rugby and was in the school’s first chess team. Despite his

accomplishments, he felt depressed, unhappy and unable to fit in.

He later recalled this as the saddest time of his life.

On the night of the school’s prize-giving ceremony in Maartens’ final year

of primary school, he felt negative and very emotional. He did not
understand

why, as he had just been awarded the school’s highest academic prize.
Trying

to cope with his feelings, Maartens left the school hall to go and sit alone

outside. Soon he became aware of a dark, moving mass, like a swarm of

locusts. The mass made a strange whispering noise. Maartens could not

understand what the mass said and did not know what it was, but he had
been

chosen to experience its presence, and this made him feel special. It was

around this time that he became interested in occult culture, and he also

enjoyed reading about religion and the physiology of animals.

By the time Maartens was in secondary school, he was experiencing

hallucinations on a regular basis. He hallucinated whenever he was under

pressure or stressed-out.

He found these occurrences to be very intimidating. While he was in the

presence of his teachers and classmates, he could not concentrate on the

hallucinations and his immediate surroundings at the same time. He would

get up and leave the classroom whenever he experienced a spell. As a result

of these episodes, Maartens became increasingly isolated, although he did

have one friend, a boy called Deon. However, he would often try to avoid
Deon, as he preferred to be alone. Whenever he played truant from school,
he

did not allow Deon to join him, as he did not want his privacy invaded. He

also refused to go out with school mates, which his parents ascribed to

shyness.

But then Maartens began to self-harm, cutting himself with a blade or

burning himself with cigarettes. When his parents realised he was seeing

things that weren’t there, they took him to see a doctor in his Grade 8 year,

when he was 14. The local psychiatrist suspected schizophrenia and

referred

him to the Free State Psychiatric Complex in Bloemfontein. The first

psychiatrist to actually diagnose Maartens with schizophrenia was a Dr

Koekoe, who explained to the family that the observatus (Maartens) had a

complex problem.

For the first time, Maartens was prescribed medication. While the

diagnosis should have given him and his family at least some peace of
mind,

as they now knew what caused his symptoms, this was not the case.

According to America’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH),

schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder that is very

difficult to diagnose in teenagers, as many of the first signs – such as

irritability, a drop in grades and a change in friends – are common during
this

period of one’s life. A great amount of stigma is attached to the disease,

which has affected people, men and women alike, throughout history. Even

though it is treatable, and many sufferers do go on to lead meaningful,

rewarding lives in their communities, society wants to categorise

schizophrenics as crazy because of the symptoms they exhibit.

Hearing voices, the belief that others are reading their minds and

controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them, are common symptoms,

leaving the sufferer terrified and leading them to become withdrawn or

extremely agitated.38

Unfortunately for Maartens, someone in his community could not wait to

leak the information about his diagnosis to the world. The secretary of the

psychiatrist who had referred him to the FSPC had a daughter who was in

Maartens’ class. The news soon spread throughout the school and the larger

Welkom community.

To those who did not understand the complexity of the illness, Maartens’

diagnosis was quite a ‘scandal’, as his mother was someone who had stature

in Welkom, and now her son had been branded as mentally ill. Maartens
was

only too aware of the fact that his peers were gossiping about his mental
illness behind his back, and the age-old stigma attached to his disease clung

and crushed his self-esteem. He felt as if all eyes were on him – attention he

had always avoided. His anxiety about not being able to control his

‘episodes’ intensified. He was bullied and ridiculed and, as a result, grew

increasingly depressed.

All the attention made him more self-conscious than ever. He felt like a

freak. Unwanted. Different.

While on medication, Maartens was like a zombie who had no personality.

He seemed to be asleep even when he was awake. His altered behaviour

was

devastating to his family.

Despite his condition, Maartens passed Grades 8 and 9 quite comfortably,

and he even passed Grade 10, despite the fact that he was seldom in class.

But by Grade 11, Maartens was unable to cope with his schoolwork. He

found it increasingly difficult to be in a classroom surrounded by the noise

his classmates generated and the stares to which he was subjected. His poor

marks led to a confrontation between him and his parents, who had been

informed about his truancy. By then, Maartens’ father had spent all his

savings and pension money on his son’s health. Doctors visits permeated
the

boy’s life.
Despite his parents’ intervention, Maartens still played truant and attended

school even less. He spent his days in the bathroom of a nearby hospital,

keeping an eye on the clock to ensure that he was back at school by the time

his parents came to pick him up. Some days he spent in the school’s boys’

bathrooms. This was awkward, however, as the boys would often visit the

bathrooms.

The medication did not seem to be working for Maartens, and he attempted

suicide by taking all of the prescribed medication he had collected over

time.

He thought the tablets would cause his heart to stop, but he slept off the

effects.

His parents continued to lend him their support, even as he reported seeing

the mass of locusts to the social workers attending his case. He also told
them

of a woman who was always with him. Her name was Lily, and he thought

she was his protector. It would be many years before his friend Roy told
him

that she was, in fact, Lilith: a demon. In time, the voices in his head began
to

curse his family and God. These were not voices he knew, and he couldn’t

tell whether they were male or female. The voices never spoke to one
another
– only to him.

Maartens did not know what he was experiencing: mental illness, or

demonic manifestation. Yet he found these experiences comforting; they

confirmed that he was special, and so he sought them out.

Maartens left high school at the end of Grade 11, before completing his

matric, and began working for his father in his steel business.

Over the years, the medication for his illness had caused Maartens to

become morbidly obese, yet in sketches he would portray himself as

notably

smaller than the rest of his family. It was as if he was not even there, his
role

in the family insignificant. His brother, Francois, a lecturer in IT at a local

FET academy, was, in his mind, the success story. Maartens harboured
strong

feelings of jealousy towards him, as Francois did not have the burden of

mental illness and had abundant opportunities to make something of his

life.

Maartens also resented the attention his father payed Francois when he felt

unable to gain his dad’s approval. Maartens’ mother had withdrawn

completely since his diagnosis, letting his father handle the situation alone.

Maartens did not often refer to his mother. During counselling sessions
with experts and social workers in the run-up to his trial, he described her as

a workaholic. Maartens’ early twenties were difficult years. His father had
to

look after him like a child, ensuring that he took his medication. Due to the

horrible side-effects, especially the weight gain, Maartens was on and off
the

pills. He returned to the FSPC every time he had a relapse so that his

psychiatrist, Dr Wiaan Meintjies, could tweak the dosages and put him back

on the meds to ensure that he went into remission. (When in remission, the

patient is considered to be a-psychotic or back in touch with reality.)

About a year and a half before the murder, Maartens’ mood improved

remarkably. These positive changes motivated him to quit his medication,

though he did inform his father of his plan. His psychiatrists, of course,

warned him against this, but he ended up doing well in the year after giving

up his meds. He lost 60 kilograms with the help of a dietician in Welkom

and, in 2010, reunited with an old friend, Roy Verster, and started meeting

new people. He still had delusions, and at times his family would notice
him

acting oddly, but he insisted that he was doing better. Even his father
noticed

that he had improved remarkably in all spheres of his functioning.

Leaning heavily on Roy, Maartens also did better socially, and he started

his own business, making cupboards in his father’s workshop. He felt alive

for the first time in years.

Roy and Maartens moved into a flat together and lived there for six

months. Roy, aware of Maartens’ illness and shyness, encouraged Maartens

to socialise with his, Roy’s, other friends. When Maartens got together with

Chané at the end of 2010, he became more comfortable and talkative in

company.

But Chané’s presence in Maartens’ life also had a negative impact. Roy

started noticing that his friend’s behaviour had begun to change. Maartens

was distant, even cold towards him, and he no longer discussed his life with

Roy. Then Maartens and Chané began to cut each other, and Roy requested

that Maartens find alternative accommodation. This is when he moved in

with Chané.
Maartens, though, thought meeting Chané was the best thing that had ever

happened to him. He now had a girlfriend who accepted him

unconditionally.

Chané ‘understood everything about him’, and he everything about her.

She understood his moods and emotions, including his mental-health issues.

In his eyes, she was very loving and caring.

If social profiles are indicative of someone’s mental state, one can only

wonder whether his 234 former Facebook friends had any inkling about his

state of mind, or even his plans. On Facebook, his interests were listed as:

Books: The Bible; Stephen King’s Cell and William Chancellor’s

Destruction of Black Civilization.

Music: Papa Roach, Godsmack and Seether.

Movies: Donnie Darko and Paranormal Activity.

Favourite activities: Silence and not sleeping.

Facebook pages: Demonic Entity and Guide to True Demons for

Paranormal Investigators.

On 9 February 2011, Maartens wrote on Chané’s Facebook wall:

Lady Blackmore – You part your lips, dead butterfly words spill out, they
fall upon

my mystic heart and stain it with sweet poison. Spreading the beautiful dark
through
empty veins. A dead life, a lifeless dead. Now your thorns have pricked my
skin, my

soul bleeds into your night. Red serpent coiling, black viper, intertwined
staring at

inky stars on a paper white sky … for you my love. xx

On Maartens’ birthday on 15 March 2011, Chané wrote on his wall:

Hey Dex, ek hoop jy het n great birthday, ek wens ek kon vandag af vat om
by jou

te wees, maar darem sien ek jou na werk, dan kan ons celebrate. Kan nie
wag om

jou te sien nie. Ek is baie lief vir jou. Geniet jou daggie. mwa.

(Hey Dex, I hope you have a great birthday, I wish I could take the day off to
be

with you, but at least I will see you after work, then we can celebrate. I can’t
wait to

see you. I love you very much. Enjoy your day. Mwa.)

He responded: Hey Luum, dankie vir die beste pressie ooit ;) lief jou ook en

sien dan na werk, miss. B. xx (Hey Luum, thank you for the best pressie ever

;) love you too and see then after work, miss. B. xx)

In Chané’s eyes, he was someone. He was significant. But he still did not

fit in society.

On 20 March, Maartens wrote on his wall: Tired … so tired of all these

people, places, noises. Need to find the eternal emerald dream and sleep
forever …

On 31 March, he wrote, in English: Next time anyone asks me what

eviscerate means I’ll show them through example. 39

‘Eviscerate’ means to remove the intestines or innards, to disembowel or

gut. Did this come from him or his partner? Is this just a depressed person

talking or is it an allusion to something more sinister? Does anyone ever take

this sort of thing to heart?

His friends certainly did not. And why would they? It was usual Maartens-

talk, after all.

Posting something on social media is as good as putting up a billboard, and

it was no secret that Maartens was Chané’s Dex and she was his Luum.

Months before Maartens met Chané, a post dated 6 May 2010 reads: Don’t

fear the dark – fear what lives there.

A day later, Maartens wrote: Think I’m turning into a goth … shit.

On 11 February 2011, he wrote: Three years of reading, searching,

studying, pondering, reading some more and talking to some interesting

people finally paid off. Experimenting was a success, found an answer.

Thanks to all the people involved, you know who you are ;-)

Who these people are is unknown.

In the days after Maartens’ arrest, his brother told his Facebook friends of
his total disbelief: It’s a sad day. Yes, my brother and his girlfriend have been

arrested. No, I don’t know more than what is said in the newspapers.

In the next few days, Francois made a final public statement as the cruel

details of the graveyard murder surfaced: Ek is jammer vir die familie van

Michael van Eck. Vergewe hulle asseblief. Die Here weet, ons het nie geweet

nie. (I am sorry for the family of Michael van Eck. Forgive them, please.
God

knows, we did not know.)

25

Maartens in the dock

Just under a year after his fiancée was sentenced and incarcerated, Maartens

van der Merwe’s trial started at the Virginia Circuit Court.

In a pre-trial interview, Maartens claimed that he did not remember much

of what had happened on the day of the murder. According to him, he only

really became aware of what had happened a week after, when he woke up
in

the middle of the night after a bad dream and smelt blood. Only then did he

realise that he had killed someone. Even after the dream he did not have a
full

picture of the incident, only various bits and pieces that appeared to him

when he was asleep.

Judge Ian van der Merwe, from Bloemfontein, would preside over

Maartens’ fate. Advocate Johan de Nysschen was again appearing for the

state and this time Advocate Pieter Nel, from Legal Aid SA, for the defence.

Like his co-accused, Maartens had from the outset pleaded guilty on all

charges – murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and corpse

mutilation.

Henriëtte van Eck and the rest of her family resumed their position right

behind the accused. This time, Henriëtte would stare at the back of
Maartens’

bald head. Her hatred for the perpetrators had intensified exponentially over

the past 11 months. Her heart was still aching for her son. She had

completely lost her appetite since Michael’s death and, whereas before she

had loved socialising with her family, now she was a virtual recluse. The

woman who had once been a busy housewife had almost completely stopped

caring for her home. Time, life … everything had come to a standstill on the

day she lost her child. It was as if Michael had been her only child, and a big

part of who Henriëtte was had been buried with him in the shallow grave.

De Nysschen started the proceedings. ‘M’lord, with permission from my

learned colleague, I would like to place Exhibit G before the court. M’lord,

these are the photos of the scene in the cemetery where the body … with
respect, what was left of the deceased … was found. Exhibit H, the photos of

the flat in Unicor Road …’

They were the same exhibits that had been presented in the trial of Chané

van Heerden.

‘Exhibit U, the post-mortem report. Exhibit J is the first part of the post-

mortem, Exhibit K, the later part, when the rest of the deceased was put back

together …’

‘Okay, good,’ said Judge van der Merwe. ‘All these documents … It’s

irrelevant to repeat it all. They are accepted as submitted by the state. Thank

you. Advocate Nel?’

Maartens’ lawyer got up. ‘As it pleases the court. I would now like to call

the accused to the witness stand.’

Maartens looked groomed but gaunt while he took the oath. He wore a

short-sleeved white shirt and smart black pants, and his head had been

carefully shaven. His sideburns followed the shape of his angular jaw,

forming an even, thin, U-shaped beard.

‘I don’t know if there is a chair, but you are welcome to sit down,’ said the

judge.

‘No, I’m fine, thank you,’ Maartens replied.

‘Good, but if you are uncomfortable, please tell me. Advocate Nel, you
may proceed.’

‘Thank you, M’lord. Now, Mr van der Merwe … How old were you when

you committed this crime?’

‘Twenty-four years old.’

‘What is your marital status?’

‘I am unmarried, but I am still engaged to Chané van Heerden.’

‘I am sorry, Mr van der Merwe,’ the judge interrupted, ‘but you are going

to have to speak up.’

‘Okay, I’m sorry,’ Maartens replied.

‘Where did you go to high school?’ Nel continued.

‘Goudveld High School, Welkom,’ Maartens replied, dully.

‘Excuse me, Mr van der Merwe,’ the judge interrupted again, ‘you will

have to speak louder. The acoustics are not good in this court.’

‘Okay,’ Maartens replied, a fraction louder.

‘What is your highest educational qualification?’ asked Nel.

‘Grade 10.’

‘What is the reason for this?’

‘I started seeing a psychological doctor, you see, ’cause they said I have

schizophrenia and I experienced certain symptoms. It made it difficult for

me
to go to school. My father took me out of school because of that.’

‘There was evidence by a psychiatrist that you were a bright scholar?’

‘That is true.’

‘So if I understand correctly, you did well academically but schizophrenia

hampered your performance and then you started seeing doctors. First Dr

[Wiaan] Meintjies?’

‘First I saw a local psychiatrist, Dr van Jaarsveld, who referred me to the

Free State Psychiatric Complex, where I saw various doctors. I ended with
Dr

Meintjies who treated me.’

‘Okay, he has treated you since you were 18 years old?’

‘Yes.’

‘He testified that you and Chané were with him approximately a month

before the incident. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, it is.’

‘At the time, where and with whom did you stay?’

‘In a flat with my fellow accused.’

‘Regarding the second charge, robbery, was this planned?’

‘No.’

‘Was it on the spur of the moment?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have any previous convictions?’

‘No.’

‘Do you regret the incident?’

‘Yes, I do regret what happened. I don’t deny what I’ve done.’

De Nysschen got up again, frustrated. ‘I can’t hear what the accused is

saying,’ he said to the judge.

‘Yes, please speak up. You drop the words at the end of a sentence. So you

start off well but end off badly,’ Judge van der Merwe reprimanded Maartens

again.

‘Okay, sorry,’ said Maartens more clearly. ‘I am sorry for what I have

done. I take responsibility for my actions and have to be punished. Nothing I

do or say can take back my actions.’

‘Are you also prepared to apologise to the victim’s family?’ asked Nel.

‘Yes.’

‘Well, now you have the opportunity.’

Maartens half turned to look at the Van Ecks. Michael’s sisters were in

tears. Naas van Eck showed no emotion, and Henriëtte refused to look at the

accused. She blocked her ears with both hands. Naas put his arms around his

wife.
‘Nothing I do or say can bring Michael back,’ said Maartens. ‘I know it

won’t help to say I’m sorry. But I don’t want you to fill your hearts with hate

and anger and aggression and at the end of the day doom your own souls. I

also don’t want my actions to cause that. So for what it is worth, I am sorry.’

Maartens turned back to face his advocate. When she knew it was over,

Henriëtte looked up again. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she wasn’t sad
–

she was furious. She wanted to slam a door in the murderer’s face.

Nel turned back to his client. ‘Anything else you would like to testify

about?’

‘No,’ said Maartens.

‘I have no further questions, M’lord,’ Nel said, and sat down.

De Nysschen stood up and held the back of his pen to the corner of his lips,

taking a moment to examine the blank expression on Maartens’ face. ‘Thank

you, M’lord. Mr van der Merwe, I would like you to listen carefully to the

following: it was suggested by your so-called fiancée, Chané van der

Merwe,

when she pleaded guilty, that you were in a love relationship since January

2011. Is that correct?’

‘December 2010, to my knowledge,’ replied Maartens.

‘Since when have you known each other?’

‘It was March 2010, somewhere there, I can’t say with certainty.’

‘How did you meet?’

‘Through my best friend, Roy Verster, at a party.’

‘So you say that during your relationship you studied a variety of occult

literature. Is that correct?’

‘I did, separately. We never studied it together. In some instances we

practised it jointly, but we never studied it together.’

‘You discussed it?’

‘Yes.’

‘What exactly did you talk about?’

‘Different religions, M’lord. It was a search to find something in which to

believe. New Age to Islam, Buddhism, everything regarding that. Never

satanism. The occult in general.’

‘Okay, just a moment. Never any Satan worship or anything to do with

satanism or related?’

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘Okay, we will later look at what is going on on the cellphones and

computers. They are filled with satanic profiles and signs. Where does that

come from?’

‘Mr de Nysschen, I don’t know if you are competent to make that

statement. I don’t know how much you know of the occult and satanism. So
I

would rather prefer someone who can convey what they think about it.

Because I did not study satanism in any way. I have seen a lot of it, but I am

not a satanist or a Satan worshipper. I never was.’

De Nysschen’s face contorted in a slight sarcastic grin. ‘Given the situation

you find yourself in, Mr van der Merwe, I am finding your arrogance rather

difficult to bear. You say I am not competent? Let’s quickly look at the

documents before you.’

De Nysschen read out the exhibit and page number. Maartens’ fingers

fumbled between the pages. De Nysschen looked annoyed.

‘Give him a chance,’ the judge said.

Detective Ogies Nel got up to assist him, but still Maartens looked

confused.

‘Yes, M’lord,’ said De Nysschen. ‘Yes, there where the investigating

officer has opened up for you. You see? That is Chané van Heerden on that

page, am I correct?’

‘Yes,’ Maartens said.

‘And you see yourself there too?’

‘Yes.’
‘There your chest is clearly carved, am I correct? And an eye sketched on

your chest?’

‘Yes.’

‘That was done by Chané van Heerden, correct?’

‘Correct.’

‘Okay. Good. Let us turn to the next page. Can you explain to this court

what ritual is that?’

‘It is not a ritual we discussed beforehand. I said to her she can do what she

wants. We never discussed it, we just did it.’

‘That is not what I asked. I asked what ritual is this?’

They looked at another photograph of rings soaked in a bowl of blood.

‘It is just something Chané and I did together. It is not Satan worship.’

‘So what does this ritual entail? You cut each other with knives?’

Maartens answered inaudibly. De Nysschen straightened his back. ‘Let me

help you, Mr van der Merwe. So you would cut each other with knives and

then the blood—’

Maartens interrupted him. Both irritated, he and De Nysschen spoke over

each other.

‘Wait, you must please not talk at the same time,’ Judge van der Merwe

intervened. ‘Maartens, what was it that you wanted to say?’

‘Yes, I am a masochist. I can say it myself. I like to experience pain. So

that was part of it.’

‘And the gathering of blood in a bowl?’ De Nysschen asked.

‘That is the visual part. Chané liked to take photographs and to draw; a lot

of it was for her.’

‘And then you got engaged?’

‘No, not then.’

‘When then did you get engaged?’

‘It was the Sunday, after the incident. I am not sure of the dates; it was a

long time ago.’

‘Your voice is disappearing again, Mr van der Merwe.’

‘I said it was the day after the incident. I took her aside, while we were at

home and I asked her to marry me. She said yes. There were no rituals

involved. We did not place the rings in blood. That was a previous ritual, of
a

long time ago. We did not take photos of our engagement. It wasn’t a

ceremony.’

De Nysschen frowned and referred Maartens to another photograph the

police had accessed on Chané’s cellphone. ‘What was this about then? The

rings in blood?’
‘It was to show that Chané and I are bound to one another,’ replied

Maartens.

‘Was it like an engagement?’

‘No, it was just to show that we promised each other to one another.’

‘Why the blood, Mr van der Merwe? You don’t know?’

‘I don’t.’

‘Is it your own blood?’ the judge inquired.

‘Yes, M’lord,’ Maartens replied.

Judge van der Merwe made a note, looking perplexed. ‘Or the blood of

both of you?’ he asked.

‘It was my blood.’

De Nysschen was not done. He was going to draw all the information he

could out of Maartens, no matter how long it took. ‘This slaughtering of

cats,’ he said, ‘where did that come from?’

‘Chané analysed animals and took them apart when she was younger.’

‘Analyse and take apart?’

‘Yes, the same as she did with the cats, we did with the cats, just earlier in

her life.’

‘Excuse me?’

Maartens attempted to raise his voice again. ‘I told her that when I was
young we had two dogs. It was my job to remove the cat carcasses from our

property. It was my experience to put them in bags and remove them. I

discussed this with her, and she discussed her history with me, also the fact

that she cut herself, and I burnt myself in the past. We felt comfortable

cutting each other while we were together. We then decided to slaughter cats

too, like she did in the past.’

‘Just a minute,’ Judge van der Merwe intervened. ‘May I ask: when you

cut yourselves when you were together, what did it mean to you?’

‘M’lord, are you asking when we did it in each other’s presence or when

we were alone?’

‘When you were together,’ prompted the judge.

‘It was not acceptable to tell anyone that we cut ourselves, and to do it in

front of each other made us feel better about it. Then at the end we would
feel

better about ourselves.’

‘So this led to slaughtering the cats?’

‘Yes, because it was something she [had done] in her past and I also had

experience with, so doing it with each other was acceptable.’

‘Thank you, M’lord,’ said De Nysschen, picking up where he’d left off.

‘On at least one occasion that we know of, you purchased a cat for this
goal?’
‘Yes,’ replied Maartens.

‘At the pet shop?’

‘Yes.’

‘A kitten?’

‘Yes.’

‘What on earth possessed you to crucify the cat?’ asked De Nysschen,

shaking his head again. ‘What was the purpose of that?’

‘Honestly, I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know.’

‘No.’

‘Was it some or other fantasy? Did it give you pleasure?’

‘No.’

‘Not? And then the cat gets slaughtered,’ De Nysschen said, referring

Maartens to another photo. The skull of the kitten is seen floating in an ice-

cream container. ‘Was this Chané’s doing?’

Maartens answered with a barely audible ‘yes’.

‘This skull was found in your flat. Do you know about this?’

‘Yes, I knew about it.’

‘Now what was the point of keeping the cat’s skull?’

‘Chané wanted to keep the bones for art purposes. I don’t know – she did
not fully discuss her plans for it with me.’

‘You see, Mr van der Merwe, this “I don’t know” story is not going to cut

it,’ said De Nysschen, with renewed persistence. ‘Someone does not just go

and kill a cat – crucifies it – puts the cat and cross in front of them and then

takes photographs, without knowing what it is all about. So please just go on

and tell the court what it was that you talked about that time and why you
did

it.’

Maartens looked exhausted. ‘Chané wanted us to pose for photos and then

we did. I don’t know why I did it, but I did.’

De Nysschen turned to another picture found on Chané’s cellphone,

depicting the question: What would Satan do? In another photograph, Chané

had carved the eye of Satan around Maartens’ nipple.

‘Did you ever discuss the devil?’ asked De Nysschen, holding up the

folder.

‘We made references to it. We never discussed it. I don’t worship Satan.

As far as I can remember, Dr Kobus Jonker testified about this at Chané’s

hearing, that we were not satanists.’

De Nysschen refrained from commenting on Maartens’ arrogant attitude.

‘Let’s have a look at your cellphone, shall we?’ he said coolly.

‘M’lord, this is a phone I borrowed from my brother, as my phone broke

on the night of the incident,’ said Maartens.

‘This was a ritual,’ said De Nysschen, ignoring him. ‘A cat is killed and

slaughtered. You took a video of it. You see Chané sitting there in a little

white dress. You took the video, correct?’

‘I can’t remember,’ replied Maartens, ‘but I won’t dispute it either.’

‘What was the idea behind slaughtering this cat?’

‘Chané had begun feeling depressed; she wasn’t happy. I then went to buy

her the cat to make her feel better. I said to her we can keep the cat as a pet
or

she can slaughter it. She chose to slaughter it.’

‘Goodness. Is the real version not that you could not find your prey, if I

can call it that – a human to kill – so you bought her the kitten?’

‘No.’

‘Not?’

‘The ritual had nothing to do with the death of Michael van Eck.’

Henriëtte, who had been listening intently to the heated exchange,

shuddered at the sound of her son’s name.

‘It is correct that you started planning this murder at the beginning of

February 2011?’ continued De Nysschen. ‘Is that not correct?’

‘We had discussed how it would feel to kill a person. But we did not plan

this specific murder from then, no.’

‘Mr van der Merwe, you did not plan this specific murder, but you had

been searching for someone to murder since the beginning of February, is

that correct?

‘It is.’

‘So Michael van Eck was just the unlucky guy [who was] in the wrong

place at the wrong time. Is that right?’

‘Yes.’

‘I can’t hear you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Have a look at the disgusting photos for this court. They are just a few

pages back from where we were. Do you see them?’

‘Yes.’ Maartens showed no emotion as he looked at the photographs of

Chané’s handiwork.

‘That is the skinning process of Michael van Eck’s face, is that correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘You were the one who took the photos?’

‘I can’t remember. If I took it, then I did. But I can’t remember.’

‘You were there when this process took place?’

‘Yes, I was. Chané or I took the photos. One of us.’

‘Look, it is clear that some of the pictures were taken by Chané, because

there she is standing, however loathsome it is, with the deceased’s skull in

her hand.’

De Nysschen pointed to a photograph, Chané’s black fingernails clearly

visible, holding up Michael’s skinned skull, while she took the picture with

her cellphone. Maartens looked as if his mind was far away from De

Nysschen’s piercing eyes and incessant questions.

‘Am I right, Mr van der Merwe?’ De Nysschen asked.

‘Yes,’ Maartens replied, as if returning to reality.

‘You were there?’

‘Yes.’

‘What pleasure did you get out of this?’

‘I didn’t.’

‘Chané said in her statement that she had stabbed the deceased, Michael

van Eck, in the back three times with a knife. Correct?’

‘Correct.’

‘So the rest of the stab wounds, that was you?’

‘Yes.’

‘And it was only the two of you there?’

‘Yes.’

‘Now the court knows Michael van Eck was stabbed at least 32 times with

a knife. In other words, 29 of those 32 stab wounds were inflicted by you?’

‘Yes.’

‘You stabbed him with a hunter’s knife?’

‘Yes.’

‘Now what pleasure did you get from that?’

‘I didn’t.’

‘Now why then did you do it?’

‘I wanted to kill him as quickly as possible, but I can’t tell you why. I just

did it, and I don’t know why.’

‘Who buried the limbs of the deceased in the garden?’

‘That was me.’

‘Why?’

‘Chané wanted the bones to be clean when we dug them up again. She

wanted it.’

De Nysschen turned to the photo of Maartens standing in the garden, a

shovel in his hand. It was the photograph taken by a police officer after

Maartens had pointed out where the rest of the victim’s remains were buried.

‘Let me refresh your memory,’ continued De Nysschen. ‘The police began

searching in the garden for parts of the deceased. Correct?’

‘Yes, that’s correct.’

‘You then said to a policeman: “You are digging in the wrong place.”’

‘No, he asked me where I buried the limbs, then I showed him.’

‘And then you showed him.’

‘Yes.’

‘Now look at me.’

‘He gave me the shovel and said I must dig them up where I buried them,’

said Maartens. ‘I did not have much of a choice in the matter. So I did what

they asked.’

‘So you were obliged?’

‘Yes.’

‘Take a careful look at the shovel photo.’

‘Yes?’

‘You are standing there with a grin on your face, Mr van der Merwe.’

‘It’s not a grin.’

‘What was so funny?’

‘It was raining. I was tired, we had been driving around and I had done all

the pointing out to the police. I was grinding my teeth.’

‘Now, Mr van der Merwe, if that is grinding—’

‘It is. Why should I smile?’ Maartens was getting irritated again.

‘Then I need to get another name for it,’ said De Nysschen, still not

convinced or satisfied with Maartens’ grinding theory.

‘Why should I smile?’

‘But you are smiling, is that not so?’

The gallery looked as if they were watching a tennis match. Henriëtte sat

alert, her back straight.

‘No, it is not,’ said Maartens emphatically. ‘I took an oath before God to

tell the truth and that is what I’m doing.’

De Nysschen decided to let it go. He had made his point. Changing tack he

said: ‘I’m sure you’ve gone through all this documentation. Let’s take a look

at all these SMSes sent between the two of you.’

‘I did not go through everything, no,’ Maartens said.

‘Let me refresh your memory. On 7 February 2011, you sent the follow ing

SMS: “My love, this emptiness, this irritation, unsatisfaction [ sic] with not

having our dark desires fulfilled” … Mr van der Merwe, listen carefully to

what I am saying: “not having our desires fulfilled is making me lose my

mind”. Is that correct?’

‘Correct. But I am not referring to any specific dark desires to be fulfilled.’

‘What is it that you mean then?’

Maartens replied almost inaudibly: ‘Well, I searched a lot for the right

faith, and for me that was to get to a place where, when I died one day,
would

be specifically like a heaven. It was very hard and uncomfortable for me to

be

in this life, and that is what I meant in that statement in the SMS.’

‘Mr van der Merwe,’ De Nysschen said impatiently, ‘you had no problem

stabbing a man 29 times, but now you can’t even speak up?’

‘I am sorry, I’m a bit emotional. I will try. I am not referring here to the

slaughtering of cats or the murder of Michael van Eck as a “dark desire”. I

am referring to what Chané and I discussed about the afterlife, what would

happen once we have both died. In our own heaven.’

‘Please repeat that,’ said Judge van der Merwe.

‘It is our place where we would go,’ Maartens said, ‘it was like a religious

belief – it was very messed up. It does not make a lot of sense to me now
and

a lot of the things I did do not make sense to me now.’

‘At the time you saw Dr Meintjies, February 2011, you were already

planning this murder, correct?’ asked De Nysschen.

‘I can’t remember.’

‘There is a body part of the deceased that is still missing. His fourth or fifth
vertebra.’

‘I was informed about that by the investigating officer.’

‘Yes, and you told her that you would tell the court where it is in court.

Now is your opportunity, Mr van der Merwe.’

‘No, that is ridiculous. I never said that. I said I have no idea where it is. I

did not even know it was missing.’

‘Where is it?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘It was just the two of you that cut up the poor guy. Where is the neck

vertebra?’

‘Advocate de Nysschen, I wasn’t in my right mind when I killed him.

When I removed his limbs, I did so speedily and with force. Chané held out

the bags for me to put them in. If anything was left behind, I wouldn’t know.

I never kept anything from the investigating officer or anyone else.’

‘Mr van der Merwe, however disgusting it is, the head of the deceased was

removed with surgical precision. Straight off.’

‘I cut it off and I’ve never done it before. I just cut him, that’s all.’

‘So you cut off his head?’

‘A part of it. Chané could not do it by herself.’

‘And was it around then that the vertebra disappeared?

‘It could have been then or when we dragged the body.’

‘Who cut off his legs?’

‘That was me.’

‘Why? Wait – let me help, because he couldn’t fit in the hole.’

‘Yes.’

‘What did you dig with?’

‘Spoons.’

‘How long exactly did you sit down and plan this murder for?’

Maartens replied that they planned it the night before, on the Friday.

‘When did she start soliciting [the victim] on the cellphone site, 2Go?’

pressed De Nysschen.

‘I think it was a few days before.’

‘Yes, and you were a part of it.’

‘I did not see the conversations between them.’

‘But you knew she was searching for someone.’

‘Yes.’

‘You helped her.’

‘No.’

‘You could not find a suitable victim at that stage, correct?’

‘I did not help her. Every night we discussed it, I just let it go. Then she
suggested we go on 2Go. At first I was jealous that she would be flirting
with

other guys, then later she said, because we lived together, she will find

someone and lure him to kill him. She said she would show me the

conversations afterwards, but she never did.’

‘Do you now want to pass the buck by putting the blame on her?’

‘No.’

‘That she searched for a victim …’

‘No.’

‘You both searched for a victim since February.’

‘Correct.’

‘You both made a list of what to take to the graveyard.’

‘I don’t know about a list, no. Chané liked to make lists, but I don’t know

if she made a list that night.’

‘But then how did you plan it, where you’d wait, how was it going to

work?’

‘She would meet him and I would hide somewhere and later overpower

and stab him to death.’

‘No, not “somewhere”. Where exactly?’

‘At the cemetery. We did not decide exactly where until we arrived.’
‘Now who cut off the face?’

‘It was Chané.’

‘Where were you?’

‘In the same room.’

‘Why did she stitch the lips?’

‘I don’t know. I never asked her.’

‘You had planned this whole thing. Waited like wolves in the night, killed

him, cut him apart, now she sits and skins his face, stitches his lips. Surely

you talked about this?’

‘We never did. But I know she liked to stitch. It is something she always

wanted to do. A long time ago I offered that she could cut my back open and

stitch it up. But she did not want to hurt me. That is probably why she

worked on his face.’

‘And you are probably going to tell this court this fantasy is now over, it

won’t happen again. Or can’t you tell the court that?’

‘It will never happen again.’

‘What guarantee could you give the court that it won’t happen again?’

‘I can just say it will never happen again.’

‘Precisely. Coming from your mouth, how can you guarantee that? Now if

you can’t, why should you ever be released back into society again?’
‘Must everybody we arrest be locked up for the rest of their lives because

they might make the same mistake again? That argument doesn’t make

sense.’

‘Sir, given your intelligence, you have a totally distorted view of the law. It

is not every person that commits these gruesome deeds. Am I correct?’

‘Yes.’

De Nysschen requested that Maartens open another exhibit before him.

‘This is the knife Chané van Heerden used in the attack. Correct?’

‘Yes, it’s true.’

‘And it’s unbelievable how this knife is washed and placed in the drying

rack beside the dishes, right?’

‘I don’t know about that.’

‘Come now, sir, there it is,’ said De Nysschen, pointing at the police

photograph of the drying rack.

‘My head wasn’t always there,’ said Maartens. ‘I admit what I have done,

but I can’t remember everything in such clear detail; I don’t have a

photographic memory.’

‘Mr van der Merwe, please don’t try and go down that road. It won’t work.

You know exactly what happened. Am I right?’

‘Yes.’
‘Am. I. Right?’ De Nysschen reiterated.

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Now, you can remember everything crystal clearly, Mr van der Merwe.’

‘No.’

‘Am I right?’

‘No.’

De Nysschen shook his head, clearly agitated. ‘Can you remember where

you hid the knives the night of the incident? You gave precise instructions to

your advocate. Right. So don’t go the unaccountability route.’

‘I am accountable,’ insisted Maartens.

‘Yes, you are.’

‘I just can’t remember everything in such perfect detail.’

‘So please don’t play games with the court.’

‘I never did.’

‘It’s not going to work.’ De Nysschen turned the page. ‘You see that

hunting knife?’

‘Yes.’

‘That is the knife you used to murder the deceased. Correct?’

‘Correct.’

‘Who cleaned that knife afterwards?’

‘It was me.’

‘You washed off the blood?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where does the knife come from?’

‘I bought it last year, not with the aim to kill someone – it was just

something I always wanted.’

‘For years?’

‘Yes.’

De Nysschen continued with his line of questioning. ‘Where did you buy

the knife?’

‘I can’t remember the shop,’ Maartens said. ‘It was a shop selling knives,

among other things.’

‘In Welkom?’

‘Yes.’

‘So early 2011. So what made you use this hunting knife and not a

butcher’s knife like your co-accused?’

‘I just wanted a knife to stab with. It did not matter what knife it was,’

Maartens explained.

‘So it was just coincidence that you took this knife?’

Maartens nodded. De Nysschen did not even bother to tell him to speak up.
He had had enough.

‘That is all, M’lord.’ With this, he abruptly ended his questioning and sat

down.

‘Thank you. Advocate Nel, re-examination?’ inquired Judge van der

Merwe.

‘Thank you, M’lord. Just for the purposes of completeness, is there

anything you would like to add, Mr van der Merwe?’

‘No.’

‘Good, thank you, M’lord. I have no further questions.’

‘Thank you. Mr van der Merwe, I understand that in one way or another

you would cut yourselves and that would make you feel better?’ Judge van

der Merwe asked.

‘Yes,’ Maartens replied.

‘And you would do this in each other’s company, which made it more

acceptable?’

‘Yes.’

‘And this led to cats; this was now, like, the next phase?’

‘No, the cats were just something she and I shared. We wanted to

experience something. It was not the same with Michael van Eck.’

‘But how do you mean you wanted to “experience something different”?’

asked the judge. ‘I am just asking because I am trying to understand.’

‘We always discussed what would happen after death. We thought that

doing those things would bring us closer together.’

‘The cats, now?’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay, now how did you come to the decision that you would have to find

a person to kill? I am trying to understand. How did it now happen that you

would go from cats to a person, or is there not a connection? Please take a

sip

of water. It is important that I understand.’

‘Chané wanted someone to do the stitching on and to keep their limbs and

I loved her. She did not want to cut me open, so I said to her it was okay, we

could find somebody to kill. I thought through that, we would understand

more about death. That did not happen.’

‘Okay. Now the state has put a lot of emphasis on the fact that such a thing

could happen again. In Chané’s case, this also played a role and I’ve now

heard what you have to say, but what can you tell me to convince me that
this

won’t happen again?’

‘I know Chané and I are probably not a good influence on each other. I

know that I would have never done it without her and she wouldn’t have
done it without me. We pushed each other towards doing it. I know that what

I did was wrong and that it was sick. If there is a possibility that I can get

better, I know that one day we will not do it on our own. It was our influence

on each other that caused it. I know what I did and I know it was wrong, but
I

don’t know how we got to that. If someone should now force me and put a

pistol to my head and ask me to do it again, I won’t. They would have to

shoot me. I am not denying what I did. All these things Advocate de

Nysschen said, I did, but I don’t know how, and I don’t always know why.’

‘Thank you. Any further questions, counsel?’

‘M’lord, I believe all the aspects have been covered,’ said Nel. ‘I have no

further questions.’

‘Mr de Nysschen?’

‘Just a single aspect,’ replied De Nysschen. ‘Mr van der Merwe, you know

that you are now trying to create the impression that you don’t know why
this

thing happened. On 2 February 2011 you sent the following SMS to Chané

van Heerden. I will read part of it: “See you soon, and this weekend there
will

be a new experience introduced, one we discuss all the time that involves a

victim and death. Not you or me though, but finally we can make it happen.”
You don’t have to look, Mr van der Merwe. Just accept what I am saying. I

won’t mislead you.’

‘Yes,’ said Maartens, ‘what was the question?’

‘On 2 February you had already sent this message to Chané?’

‘Yes.’

‘You said, we are going to find a victim and we are going to kill him? Is

that not so, sir? Am I right?’

‘What I can remember was that this was about the cats, and I don’t deny

that we discussed it, but not in February or before that.’

‘I have no further questions. Thank you.’

De Nysschen asked that the court stand down for the rest of the day. He

was to call Henriëtte van Eck to the stand next, but he could not bear to do
so

after she’d had to listen to her son’s murderer for hours on end.

De Nysschen had never before felt as emotionally exhausted.

26

Voice from the grave

The morning after Maartens testified in his own defence, Michael’s mother

bravely took the stand.

De Nysschen swore in Henriëtta Christine Welbete van Eck. On the

surface, Henriëtte looked calm. One could tell that she saw this as her

opportunity to face her son’s killer and make her feelings known.

‘Mrs van Eck,’ De Nysschen began, ‘we know it is hard [for you] to stand

here, and I must tell you I have great appreciation that you are willing to tell

this court more about your son.’

Henriëtte nodded and looked across at her husband, his gaunt and

heartbroken face. He was emotionally unable to take the stand. It was

Henriëtte’s turn to be the strong one.

‘You can now give the court a bit of background on who your son was,’

De Nysschen said, and took a step back.

Henriëtte van Eck sounded hoarse. Her fingers fumbled with the pages

before her.

‘It is very difficult. But thank you for giving me this opportunity. Our son

worked and lived very hard. His entire life. He did not waste his life with

alcohol and sinister activities. He was a homebody – he studied, worked and

socialised at his home. That is why [his death] hit us so hard.

‘At every court sitting we are laughed at, as if his death, his murder, is

nothing. He did not just die. He was murdered. It is not a joke.

‘Yesterday we were apologised to, but I don’t want [that man’s] excuse.

My child won’t be given a second chance. It won’t make him alive again. I
think after what was done to him, [the accused] must never ever be freed

from jail again, because we have to suffer every day without our child. Since

this happened, some of our marriages are in trouble: my husband and I are

having problems, his sisters are having problems because of what the murder

of our child has done to all of us.’

‘Are you receiving counselling?’ De Nysschen asked sympathetically.

‘No,’ Henriëtte replied.

‘Are you taking medication of any kind to help?’

‘No, no.’ Henriëtte shook her head.

‘Your son was still studying. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, he was.’

‘In which line?’

‘Electronic engineering.’

‘Had he completed his studies or was he still studying?’

Henriëtte said that he had not fulfilled his dream to become an engineer.

‘I’ve brought all his certificates. But first he had to do a period as a

tradesman. He had just got his first salary. The first R1 000 he drew was

stolen from him. He studied very hard, because for a child of his age to have

got so far with his studies, he would have had to. He studied until the day he

was murdered. I have brought his certificate if M’lord would like to see it?’
‘No, it is okay, we hear what you are saying,’ the judge responded

sensitively.

Henriëtte continued: ‘Then there is something his father wrote and he

asked if I could please, if it would be okay to do so, read it out to the court?’

‘It is because your husband couldn’t bear testifying?’ De Nysschen asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Is it correct that your husband is taking the loss of his child very hard?’

‘Yes.’

‘The same goes for your daughters?’

‘Two of his sisters said straight-out that they don’t have the strength to

come and stand here and testify and to listen to what was done to their

brother.’

‘And am I correct that one of your daughters has very serious medical

problems because of this?’

‘Yes, yes. [She and Michael] only differed in age by one year and three

months. They were always together. They went through high school
together.

He always looked out for her. She is not the strongest person. So she is

suffering immensely and they live on a farm, they farm, and she constantly

wants to be with us. Her husband does not understand this, so it has caused
marital problems.’

‘Another time you also mentioned weight loss?’

‘Yes, two of my girls have lost such an incredible amount of weight. They

are the two who live the furthest away from us and whom we don’t get to see

every day. One of them bites her nails to the quick.’

De Nysschen then asked Henriëtte to read the letter that her husband had

written. Tears streamed down Naas van Eck’s face as she began to read out

his words:

‘“I am not testifying today for myself, but for Michael, who, as a result of

you and your girlfriend ending his life, cannot stand here himself to tell the

court what was done to him and his family.”’

The perspective of the letter then changed, and it soon became apparent to

everyone in the court that Naas had written the letter as if it came from

Michael himself. It was as if Michael had been resurrected from the grave.

‘“In the time you slaughtered and mutilated little animals, I prepared

myself for my future so that I could be proud of myself and one day look

after myself and a family of my own.”’

For a moment, it was as if Michael himself was on the stand. As parents,

Naas and Henriëtte had wanted to pay their son this last respect, to speak on

his behalf after his voice had been silenced forever. The grieving mother
continued to read:

In the time that you planned your first murder, I studied proudly and
obtained my

N2, N3 and N4 certificates and qualified as an electrician. After a long

struggle to

find work, I studied further, as it was my goal to become an engineer. My

parents

were proud of me when I got my first job as an electrician at the Goldfields

Plant.

By then, you had probably already planned my murder. You were very proud
of

yourselves, but could not let anybody share in your achievement.

I was well on my way to being happy when you managed to fool me. You
did so

because I trusted my fellow man. It was easy for you to lure me to the
graveyard,

where you overpowered me and brutally killed me.

Did you know what was going through my mind when you repeatedly
penetrated

me with your knives? But that was still not the end. My screams of pain,
shock and

fear were too much for you as I lay there helplessly and endured your cruel,

merciless torture. At least, finally, death stepped in. And then you would go
on to
cut me up and behead me. After that, you chucked me away in a shallow
grave like

trash that meant nothing to anyone. You went on to mutilate my face. You
had to

pierce my lips with a needle so that you could stitch them shut to use my
face as a

mask for your own entertainment.

You thought that you would get away with murder, but those who cared
about me

and loved me searched for me and found me. My father knew me so well
that, even

though he was so shocked by what he saw, he could still tell by my back and
two

severed legs that it was me.

For my family, life after 2 April 2011 was terribly difficult, as they had to try
to

deal with my death. You had mutilated me to such an extent that they could
not

even look at me one last time to bid me farewell. I am not just a face on a
photo, a

grave in a graveyard; there are the most wonderful memories of me and my

family

together.

But, after everything, my family is still just as proud of me and loves me just
as
much. That you could not take away from me. And where are you now? Are
your

parents still as proud of you? Do they still love you just as much as before?
Do they

boast about this feat you have achieved?

Now is the last time that you can say, ‘I am proud of what I’ve done.’ You
are a

weakling, because you cannot even admit to the gruesome deed that you
have done.

Now you are hiding behind your girlfriend, who supposedly influenced you
the day

you murdered me. I plead to this court that the highest punishment possible
will be

imposed with no chance of parole, so that you can feel and think about what
you

have done for the rest of your life.

Thank you,

Michael.

Henriëtte did not shed a tear, but instead looked straight at Maartens, who

showed no emotion. ‘Thank you, M’lord,’ she said, ‘then there is just

something my grandchild asked me to read. It is something he did for

school.’

‘Just a moment,’ said Judge van der Merwe, looking at De Nysschen. ‘Do
you know what this is?’

‘Yes, I apologise, M’lord,’ said the advocate. ‘I forgot about that. I will ask

the court to please allow her the opportunity …’

‘Very well. Mrs van Eck?’

She began to read once more:

My role model was never famous, but what he believed in meant so much to
me and

others that it makes him a role model. My role model is my uncle, Michael
van Eck.

Mike was always friendly and he did everything with a smile on his face.
Even if

people were nasty he would just laugh and tell them to enjoy the rest of their
day.

He believed that if someone had a bad day you could make them feel better,
a

simple friendly smile would make them feel better. That is why I try to be
friendly

every day just like him. Mike taught me to always see the good in others.
Even

though some people would make it difficult to see the good in them, he
would

always take the time to try to get to know them better so that he could find

something good in them.

Mike believed that you could not say anything bad about a person if you
haven’t

first tried to see the good. He taught me to always keep on going so that I
can

achieve something to the best of my ability. Mike believed that even though
what

you do might not be the best, but if it is your best it is everything, then it is
better

than everything. I think if everyone tries every day to be friendly with

everyone,

accept each other and always to see the good in others just like Mike, the
world

would be a better place.

‘That is all, thank you, M’lord.’

Maartens’ lawyer had no further questions. Judge van der Merwe thanked

Henriëtte, and she stepped down gracefully and resumed her seat beside her

husband. Naas took his wife’s hand and squeezed it hard.

27

The naked soul of a murderer

After Henriëtte van Eck’s devastating testimony, De Nysschen called

Professor Dap Louw to the stand. Louw, a large man in his sixties, spoke

with a deep voice as he raised his right hand to take the oath.

De Nysschen read out the impressive curriculum vitae of the forensic

psychologist and head of the University of the Free State’s Centre for

Psychology and Law. With over 35 years’ experience, Louw had completed

master’s degrees and doctorates in criminal psychology and psychology

respectively.

He was the one who had prescribed the harsh and unique two-phase

sentencing of Chané van Heerden and, along with Judge Kruger, later

travelled to Amsterdam to deliver talks on his recommendations and their

implementation. Based on Louw’s recommendation, Kruger had declared

Chané a dangerous criminal and handed down the extraordinary indefinite

sentence.

De Nysschen stood up to start his round of questioning. This time, like a

lion going for the kill, he zoomed in on Maartens.

‘Please tell the court, Professor Louw, am I correct in saying that there is a

slight difference between Chané and the accused before the court today in
the

sense of the term “psychopath”?’ De Nysschen asked.

‘Firstly, I would like to emphasise that I could not find a definite mental

disorder in Ms van Heerden,’ said Louw. ‘She demonstrated characteristics

of various disorders. Can I explain?’

‘Please do, professor …’

‘M’lord, before one can diagnose an illness or a disorder, the patient would

have to have a range of certain symptoms. If a person’s nose runs, for

example, it is merely a symptom of a cold. It does not mean, per se, that the

person has a cold. There would have to be a couple more symptoms present

before one can make that diagnosis. In the same way, Ms van Heerden

presented various symptoms of various disorders, without completing one

clinical picture.’

‘Of a psychopath?’ De Nysschen interrupted.

‘Including psychopathy. There are various symptoms of a psychopath, but

she cannot in the complete sense of the word be dubbed a psychopath.’

Judge van der Merwe’s voice intruded from above. ‘Just a minute,

professor. So you could not find one specific disorder or illness?’

‘No, there was no indication,’ replied Louw. ‘M’lord, we considered every

possible disorder and she did not meet all the requirements of a single

disorder.’

De Nysschen, still convinced the girl he had put away for life was a callous

psychopathic murderer, probed further. ‘So the fact that she told everyone

and anyone willing to listen that it had always been her fantasy to kill and

that she’d do it again if she got the opportunity – would that fit the profile

that you had found?’

‘I must emphasise that it does not matter how much one symptom stands

out, no matter how reprehensible – it cannot determine a diagnosis. Just like

a

runny nose, no matter how bad it is, you can’t determine the diagnosis of a

cold if there are no other symptoms present.’

‘I think the court has a relatively good idea of what was going on in Ms

van Heerden’s mind,’ said De Nysschen, turning to Maartens. ‘Let’s talk

about the accused before the court. You saw him on a previous occasion and

again this morning?’

Louw stated that it was important, both ethically and professionally, to

mention that he was never instructed by the state or the defence to see

Maartens van der Merwe. The defence had initially asked him to evaluate

Chané. This evaluation was never used, and the state asked Louw to testify

on their side instead. During his evaluation of Chané, however, Louw had

interviewed Maartens as well. It was important to Louw to interview as

many

people as possible who were close to his subject, and these notes he would

use in conjunction with those insights he had gained and the observations he

had made of his subject.

In addition to interviewing Maartens, Louw had also interviewed Chané’s

family and the victim’s family, so that he could correlate whatever

information he gleaned from them with what Chané had told him.

Although his interview with Maartens was only to obtain collateral

information, Louw could form a relatively complete opinion on Maartens’

mental state at the time.

Louw recalled how he had had the opportunity to watch through a one-way

window while one of his students interviewed Maartens. He also had the

opportunity to watch him and Chané having lunch together. He observed

them as a young couple in love, chatting and eating, relaxed, quite natural, as

if they were the only people who existed.

Louw had found Maartens to be fit to stand trial and that he could accept

liability for what he had done.

‘Now what today is really about is for the court to decide what to do with

this man. From what you saw,’ De Nysschen said, addressing Louw, ‘what

are the chances that he would do it again? Because I must tell you,

interestingly enough, when I asked him about this yesterday, whether he can

give me a guarantee that he would not do it again, his response was basically

that he cannot guarantee anything.’

‘M’lord, with your permission, can I give the court some background

information?’ Louw requested.

‘Yes, let me hear it,’ said Judge van der Merwe.

‘M’lord, what makes this case particularly difficult, also interesting, but

difficult, is the rarity. I was in contact with international experts regarding

the

nature of the murder committed. It would thus be a guess, but an educated

guess at that, that across the world there have been no more than 10 reported

cases of this nature, with the emphasis on reported, where we have found
this

degree of skinning, such as we have in this case.’

‘You are referring to the cutting off of the face?’ asked De Nysschen.

‘I am specifically talking about that. M’lord, some of these experts

overseas even mailed me photographs of their own cases, which convinced

me: we are dealing with a very unique case.’

Louw emphasised that mutilation itself is a common occurrence; the

removal of limbs is not that rare. But the way in which Michael van Eck was

executed and then slaughtered – the conservation of the body parts and the

skinning of his face – was extremely unique.

‘And here we have a person, actually two persons, who have no previous

convictions; there is no evidence that they have done this before, except of

course with the animals, which further emphasises the uniqueness of this

situation,’ said Louw.

‘The couple had strongly suspected they would be caught. In the planning
of the murder, the possibility of a 15-year sentence came up, should they be

caught. This, however, did not restrain them from committing the deed – the

crime was committed knowingly, with a clear understanding of what could

await them.’

Louw stated that as far as mental disorders and accountability were

concerned, they could in no way serve as mitigating circumstances. About

Maartens’ schizophrenia, Louw claimed that there are various levels in

mental disorders. Maartens was not necessarily schizophrenic at the time of

the murder. The long period of planning proves this.

De Nysschen asked Louw what he had observed about Maartens before

court proceedings started that morning. Did Louw notice any remorse? De

Nysschen did not consider Maartens a victim. Instead, he saw a cool and

calculated person who was far too arrogant for his own good. He had warned

Maartens during his testimony that he would discuss his arrogance when the

time came for the sentencing.

Louw replied that his observations of Maartens that morning were the

same as those he had made when he’d met him before: Maartens was fully in

touch with reality. Louw said that Maartens was an intelligent person, that
his

insights were within the normal parameters and he was someone who could
function effectively in society.

De Nysschen, however, wanted a clear-cut answer from Louw: Should

Maartens, too, be declared a dangerous person, or should one stick to the

standard sentence of life imprisonment?

Louw felt that there was indeed a difference between Chané and Maartens.

In his view, Maartens should not be sentenced in the same way as Chané.
For

him, it had been crucial to observe Maartens straight after Henriëtte van

Eck’s emotionally arresting testimony.

‘A person isn’t always afforded the opportunity to experience the naked

soul of a murderer. This morning I had the privilege to see it, and that is the

interesting part of being human, and that is the complexity of it,’ said Louw.

‘He cried uncontrollably, to such an extent that he struggled to make himself

understood. He kept on saying to me: “I can’t believe I did it. I don’t even

like hurting people.”

‘I asked him, “If I give you two wishes right now, what would you wish

for?” His first wish was to never have been born, and the second was: “I
wish

that I could go to heaven and that they won’t also reject me there, and if

Michael is there that I can tell him that I’m sorry. But how can God ever

forgive me?”’
Louw had then asked Maartens how he thought he should be sentenced. He

had said: ‘They must actually kill me. I mustn’t live. But my advocate says

South Africa no longer has the death penalty.’

The Van Eck family looked visibly shocked. Was Louw sympathising with

their son’s callous killer? As if Louw expected such a reaction from

Henriëtte, he swiftly added that, in his opinion, although one should consider

mitigating circumstances and the human being behind the murderer, it is

more important to look at the damage the murderer has caused when

considering the sentence.

De Nysschen asked the burning question left unanswered up till then:

Would Maartens do it again?

‘M’lord, I have studied murder cases for the past 35 years, and this is a

unique case,’ said the professor. After referring briefly to the case of serial

killer Johan Nel, Louw continued gravely: ‘I am always concerned when a

murder takes place without any clear motive, and I could not trace a motive

in Chané van Heerden that falls within the normal explicable boundaries.
The

same applies to the accused before court. This scares me as a psychologist. It

makes this person unpredictable, because there is no pattern.

‘Now to pertinently answer your question, I would definitely not

recommend that this person be released soon. I am concerned that we have

not really discovered the causes, so it could happen again if the right

condition and the right circumstances present themselves.’

De Nysschen looked satisfied. ‘But we must remember that this person is

going to be in jail for a very long time.’

‘M’lord, that is so,’ Louw agreed.

‘Now what are the chances that the “right conditions” could present

themselves again?’ asked the judge.

Louw emphasised that, in South Africa, prisoners are too readily released

from prison. For that reason, the reoffending statistics range between 60 and

90 per cent.

‘In other words, 60 per cent to 90 per cent of all the people who are in jail

in this country have been there before. There should be a far better vetting

process before they are released back into the community,’ cautioned Louw.

‘And that is why you refer this court to the case of Nel?’ asked De

Nysschen.

Interrupting himself, De Nysschen explained to the court that Nel had, at

the age of 18, slit a teenager’s throat. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison,

of which he served a ‘ridiculous’ 13 years before he was released. Less than

a
year later, he killed the next woman. Louw agreed that had Nel been better

monitored, at least two lives could have been saved.

‘Now to come to my conclusion.’ Louw took a deep breath. ‘I fully agree

with the sentence that was handed down by Judge Kruger in the case of

Chané van Heerden. I don’t think that psychology and psychiatry are so far

developed that we could know how this person is going to behave in the next

few years. We don’t know if [Maartens] will again have a schizophrenic

episode in jail, which could have many implications. All that I plead for is

that, for however many years this accused is sent to jail – and I am
personally

of the view that it must be for a very long time – he is to be closely

monitored

before he is released and that he should stand before a court with thorough

evaluation reports of what his psychological state is at that time.’

‘So essentially you are recommending the same sentence as Chané?’ asked

De Nysschen.

‘Essentially, yes.’

The judge shook his head. ‘No, but for that I would have to declare him a

dangerous criminal.’

‘M’lord, that is a legal aspect that I cannot comment on,’ said Louw.

De Nysschen stood down. Maartens’ lawyer got up.

‘Professor, it is common cause that one of the objectives we need to look at

in sentencing is rehabilitation,’ said Advocate Nel. ‘I know you have

touched

on it, but can you tell this court whether or not the accused is able to be

rehabilitated?’

In response, Louw voiced his serious concern over the unrealistic

expectations of rehabilitation in jails across the world: ‘Last I checked, there

were about 150 psychologists to approximately 130 000 prisoners in South

Africa. Too many people are sent to jail to be rehabilitated, but the success

rate is very low. In this particular case, it is somewhat more difficult. If I

look

at my colleagues’ diagnosis of schizophrenia in this person eight to ten years

ago, then it is important for me to quote this: “There is no known cure for

schizophrenia. There are effective treatments that can reduce symptoms. In

other words, it is almost like epilepsy. It is a chronic illness, it recurs from

time to time. You cannot cure it, but you can alleviate the symptoms.”

‘Factors other than his illness seemed to have been at play, and for me, the

chances of rehabilitation, seen in the broader light of what is available, I

must

unfortunately say do not look good.’

‘Okay,’ Nel said, ‘now you stated [that] there are very clear differences
between the situation of the accused and that of Ms van Heerden. I will

mention these briefly: He showed remorse. I understand that she did not
show

any remorse. He apologised. She gave no evidence and, in other words,

offered no apology. He testified that he loved his girlfriend and wanted to

please her by being part of the process. So in a category of one to ten in a

dangerous criminal situation, he falls into a much lower category. You

understand what I am getting at?’

‘I understand, but that difference in degree is not something we would call

meaningful in psychology. If you classify somebody at a nine and another

one at eight, it does not make the eight a less dangerous person.’

Nel pointed out that Maartens did not say he could not guarantee that it

would not happen again; in fact, he had clearly stated that it would never

happen again. ‘This man has intense remorse. This morning he cried

uncontrollably. What is your comment on that?’ the advocate asked.

‘M’lord, in my experience there is no correlation between remorse and

later behaviour,’ replied Louw. ‘There are criminals that show remorse, only

to land up in the same prison again six months down the line. I have to say

that we are dealing with such a unique case here that, as a professional

person, I am not prepared to take any chances. To mention a silly example: If

I have a choice to send my young child to one of two weekend camps, and at

the one there is only a 2 per cent chance that something could happen to him,

and at the other camp there is no chance that something could happen to
him,

then I will not take that 2 per cent chance.

‘The harsh fact on the table is that we have seen a revoltingly ugly crime

committed, and I don’t think remorse is mitigating in this case, and that is

what I am saying here. I don’t want it on my professional conscience to say

it

won’t happen again. It happened, and here we have a unique case, which

perhaps is one of only 10 reported cases in the world – ever.’

28

Nightmares

Brigadier Gerard Labuschagne returned to the Virginia Circuit Court on 2

November 2012, a year and seven months after the murder, to present a pre-

sentencing report on Maartens. This would assist the court in establishing an

appropriate sentence. In his usual eloquent way, he shed light on the

darkness

that was in Maartens’ mind.

Labuschagne himself had interviewed Maartens and he had considered an

array of expert reports in preparation of his findings. One of the reports

handed to court revealed just how conscious Maartens really was of what he

had done. Notes made during these interviews revealed the following:

He was completely conscious throughout the interviews.

He said he experienced hallucinations once while being interviewed,

but did not show it.

His speech was easy to follow and no abnormal movements or

behaviour were observed.

He kept eye contact throughout, and however constricted it was, he

self-reported on his history.

One could hear a pin drop as Labuschagne meticulously reported his

findings: ‘This was a psychologically motivated crime. These are crimes that

usually have no external, usually financial, benefit to the offender. The crime

itself is the reward.’

Maartens claimed that it was only after meeting Chané van Heerden that

he started thinking about killing someone. Maartens told Labuschagne: ‘I

used to read a lot about the physiology of animals, cats and stuff. I was

interested in seeing how cats decomposed and how parts of the body worked

and things like that … I told Chané about it and she told me how she skins

animals … From there it escalated … and I thought [the need to kill a human

being] would go away.’

Maartens said that after a while they would start talking about something

else. Killing a human being was only a fantasy, after all.

Labuschagne told the court that it was this same curiosity that later led to

Maartens’ participation in the murder of Michael van Eck. Maartens wanted

to understand death.

‘I thought in seeing him die, in observing something in his eyes, I’d

understand. I was hoping Chané would be happy with me if she had Van Eck

to cut up,’ he told Labuschagne.

The SMS exchanges, Labuschagne said, were evidence of the planning in

which the couple had engaged. He unpacked in fine detail how Maartens and

Chané had become a potential serial-murder team – their fantasies were to be

the blueprint for the crime.

‘The purpose of a fantasy is to create a scenario that allows the offender to

behave, experience or feel a certain way, usually in a way that they cannot
do

in their daily life. Fantasies can be in response to events that have happened

to an offender. An offender, for example, who was abused at a young age

and

who lacked control over the abuse, may later develop fantasies of being in

control and taking revenge on the original abusers or those who represent

them.
‘Fantasy is often acted out with the same modus operandi every time. This

is because the offender is acting out the fantasy each time he or she commits

the crime. These are known as trial runs,’ Labuschagne said.

Animal abuse may be present in the childhood of serial killers, and the

escalation to human victims is referred to as the ‘graduation hypothesis’.

‘Violent offenders are more likely than non-violent offenders to have

committed acts of animal cruelty, and the manner in which violent offenders

abused animals resembled the method used to commit violent acts against

humans,’ Labuschagne explained, referring to how the couple had killed cats

in the run-up to the murder.

He then addressed the question of who – Chané or Maartens – had taken

the leading role in the murder. Labuschagne, in contrast to Louw, who felt

that it was a 50/50 partnership, saw Chané as the more dominant party.

‘Chané had more active fantasies. Certain parts of the crime were tolerated

or supported by the accused to please his partner.’

What counted in Maartens’ favour was his seemingly sincere remorse.

‘Remorse plays an important role in rehabilitation,’ Labuschagne

explained. ‘However, it cannot guarantee change.’ Remorse, he stated, is not

the same as regret, which often just means feeling sorry for being caught. It

was clear that, in Maartens’ defence, in forensic psychology the complete

absence of remorse can be more damning than its presence.

However, Labuschagne stated that this remorse alone could not guarantee

that things would change and prevent a situation from occurring again. ‘A

man may be unfaithful to his wife and thereafter experience feelings of

regret, remorse and guilt. This does not necessarily mean that he would not

do it again. [With Maartens] there is slightly more to work with in

comparison with his co-accused.’

But, he continued, although Maartens had experienced feelings of guilt

after slaying the cats, he had still escalated to murdering a human being.

‘I am of the opinion that the accused poses a real threat to society. The

crime he committed and the manner in which it was committed, and his

motive for committing the crime, cannot be ignored. There is a strong

likelihood that if the accused was in a similar situation, he would reoffend in

a similar manner. I am of the opinion that from a psychological point of

view,

the accused should be managed as a serial murderer, for his own protection

and that of society,’ Labuschagne concluded.

The people watching from the court gallery shifted in their seats as

Labuschagne wrapped up his report. Henriëtte’s mouth had pulled into a

hard, thin line. She was disgusted. In her mind, Maartens’ remorse was as
fake as it was irrelevant.

De Nysschen got up and thanked Labuschagne for yet another fine, concise

report.

As in the case of Chané, he still desperately wanted to ensure that

Maartens received an appropriately harsh sentence.

‘Now you are the expert … Do you think the remorse was real?’ De

Nysschen, as if reading Henriëtte’s mind, asked Labuschagne.

‘I would rather give him the benefit of the doubt and say that it was. Even

if the remorse was faked, he had the insight to know when it was appropriate

to express an emotion, and even that, even if it was faked, indicates to me

that he knows when emotions should be expressed, which is better than his

co-accused, who expressed nothing at all.’

De Nysschen asked Labuschagne to consider all the ‘what ifs’.

‘The possibility cannot be excluded that he will kill again,’ De Nysschen

said, ‘but will he need a partner if he wants to kill in future? Or is there a

possibility that he will do it on his own?’

‘Normally when we have team serial murderers, that being two suspects

who commit the murders together, you do find that one is far more the

instigator, the dominant one, who might have the fantasy and almost coerces

and manipulates the co-accused to assist them. This case was very unique, as
we had two people with their own individual fantasies, so the potential is
that

he would maybe have got into this by himself at some point, or at least he

always had the fantasy to want to do it. And that is the first dangerous step

towards actually acting it out.

‘The relationship, I think, just facilitated it a lot quicker. Because now he

had found someone who has a similar interest. So the potential is there that
he

could do it by himself. I think if he gets involved with either a romantic

partner or forms a close friendship in the future [with someone with similar

fantasies], I think it would make it possible for him to act out [his fantasies]

again.’

De Nysschen nodded. Satisfied.

‘Thank you so much. I have no further questions, M’lord,’ he said, and

took his seat.

Advocate Nel rose and gathered his notes.

‘Thank you, M’lord. Doctor, we are faced with a difficult situation,

especially in the High Court, where people frequently appear for very violent

crimes. Now the practical problem is, is there a possibility that this person,

who is going to be sentenced today, will commit a crime again when he is

eventually released from prison?’

Labuschagne listened intently as Nel elaborated on how Maartens had

treated animals and on his relationship with Chané, delving into his

childhood behaviour and the new phase of life he had entered with Chané.

Nel argued that had it not been for her, Maartens would never have

committed murder, and that he would not murder again now that she was out

of the picture.

‘I think her absence does lower the risk,’ said Labuschagne, ‘but obviously

the risk now lies in prison, where he cannot really act out what he might still

want to act out. He said that he does not want to do this again. I would like
to

believe that, but we also have to consider the possibility that these fantasies

do not just disappear. They might sort of calm down for a while, but in serial

murder cases we usually find that the killer calms down but then, later on,
the

same feelings start to surface again. The person might or might not act upon

them, but the feelings will surface again.

‘So we have to consider the possibility that this on-the-line fantasy, which

developed from the early ages of eight to nine years old, and then escalated,

is probably still going to be present, and probably will be present forever.

The

absence of [the co-accused] obviously does lower the risk, but the danger is
that the fantasy is still there. Because she did not make him do it – it was his

own decision to do it. The supportive environment just made it easier,

perhaps. But those fantasies will still be there. As will Chané’s, running in a

parallel process. If [Maartens] ever does meet a supportive partner, whether

it

be a close male friend who has similar interests, or he reunites with Chané,

should they ever come across each other’s paths again in future, or he falls in

love with another female … We would have to say that it would be a very

huge risk factor if that person also had violent fantasies.’

This concluded Labuschagne’s testimony, and he stepped down.

Wasting no time, Judge van der Merwe requested that the defence and the

state go ahead with their arguments as soon as possible. Both parties

indicated that they were ready.

Advocate Nel went first. ‘Thank you, M’lord. I will get straight to it. The

accused was only 24 years old at the time of the offences. He was unmarried,

has no dependants and was in a live-in relationship with Ms van Heerden.

He

had fixed employment with a reasonable income. There is no doubt that the

charges are serious.’

‘Yes …’ agreed Judge van der Merwe.

‘The accused was open and honest with the court,’ continued Nel. ‘He is a
first-time offender. The offence of robbery was not planned. The accused

testified that the offences were committed out of love for his girlfriend. It is

submitted that, objectively, these were bizarre deeds, and I think that is

beyond doubt. The accused is now 26 years old and in the prime of his life.’

‘Yes,’ said the judge, ‘but he did have his own motive as well. Remember,

he said that Chané wanted to do it but he wanted to learn more about death.

So he did not purely do it to please her, did he? That puts another light on
this

aspect, doesn’t it?’

‘Indeed, M’lord. He did not exclusively do it to please her.’

‘No, no, no,’ agreed the judge.

De Nysschen sat back, listening intently. The room was dead quiet.

‘As the court pleases,’ said Nel. ‘The charge of murder falls into the

category of life imprisonment, robbery with aggravated circumstances, 15

years, but I’d like to request that the court consider the youthfulness of the

offender, the motive, as well as his remorse. That is why the minimum

sentences should not be accepted.’

Nel was effectively asking the judge to impose a sentence less than the

minimum requirement of 15 years, given that the robbery had not been pre-

planned.
‘I searched far and wide,’ he continued, ‘but I have found no existing cases

that had a ruling to this effect.’

‘You mean where you have comparable facts?’ asked the judge.

‘Correct, M’lord. The only case that is somewat similar is a trial I did last

year in December, also in the High Court, in Bloemfontein. It was a father

from Brandfort. He had cut up a 13-year-old girl whose body he cooked to

extract the fat for muti purposes. He got life imprisonment. I could find no

other similar cases.’

Nel concluded by suggesting that his client be sentenced 20 years to life

for murder, 10 to 12 years for robbery, and 10 years for corpse mutilation, to

be run concurrently. Nel also suggested that Maartens be declared unfit to

carry a firearm, even though a firearm was not used in this crime.

De Nysschen got up. ‘M’lord, I have appreciation for my learned

colleague, because it must be very difficult to defend a person such as the

accused before court. I’d like to emphasise that the witnesses, Professor

Louw and Doctor Labuschagne, gave compelling evidence as to what the

sentence should be. Because these experts, if one can put it so simply,

actually looked into the head of the accused, into his psyche. I don’t have to

take another hour to embroider on the repulsive nature of the crime; it speaks

for itself. The big question, though, is “why?”’

De Nysschen referred the court to a document from a former judgment and

read it out loud: ‘“No question is more important than ‘why?’ Usually the

answer to that question will help the court understand the influences on the

accused and enable it to discover the true degree of moral reprehensibility.”

‘Now the problem is that the motive for this murder, as offered by the

accused, is in itself so bizarre and disgusting that a problem exists regarding

it. Yes, Van Heerden showed no emotion. Absolutely nothing. She did not

even blink an eye. Showed no remorse of any kind. Now it seems there is

some remorse with the accused before court. So some distinction has to be

drawn.

‘It is clear from the expert testimonies that the label of psychopath cannot

by hung around [Maartens’] neck. Regarding the interest of the community,

M’lord, again there is no need to argue. We can see this court is packed with

people. The entire country is basically up in arms over this crime. The
impact

on the Van Eck family has been soul-destroying. In my view, the

loathsomeness and repulsive nature of this crime and the poor motive behind

it far overshadow the personal circumstances of the accused.’

From what he was saying, it was clear that it pained De Nysschen deeply

not to have Maartens van der Merwe declared a dangerous criminal as well.
If
ever he looked wounded, it was then.

‘I will abide with the experts in this regard. I sincerely hope that they are

right and that we are not making a drastic mistake today. Because if the

accused is sentenced to life imprisonment, he is gone; he is out of the court’s

hands. There will not again be an opportunity to see him, like his co-
accused,

in 20 years’ time and have the opportunity to sentence him to further

imprisonment should the court deem it necessary.’

The judge nodded.

‘I plead with this court,’ De Nysschen continued, ‘that at least an order is

made for Brigadier Labuschagne’s report to be sent along with the accused
to

prison, so that the prison authorities will have an idea of what is going on.’

De Nysschen and Judge van der Merwe then discussed the charge of

robbery at length. De Nysschen conceded that the robbery was unplanned

and

the minimum sentence of 15 years would not necessarily be applicable.

Van der Merwe asked why Chané van Heerden had received a 20-year

sentence instead of life. De Nysschen explained that the intention behind it

was that Chané should ultimately serve far more than life. Judge Kruger had

sentenced her to 20 years so that her case would remain under the auspices
of
the court. If he had not, her fate would lie in the hands of the Department of

Correctional Services, who would be obligated to grant her parole after 25

years behind bars.

Suddenly De Nysschen had a clear flashback of Chané when she, like

Maartens, was awaiting her sentence. Maartens was sitting in the same

location where his lover had sat just over a year ago. De Nysschen

remembered Chané’s dead eyes, her disdain.

‘I can give the court the undertaking today that it will be just before I

retire, and it will be the last case that I do: ensuring that Chané van Heerden

stays behind bars,’ De Nysschen said with conviction.

29

Justice is served

At midday on 2 November 2012, Judge Ian van der Merwe cleared his throat

as he prepared to sentence Maartens van der Merwe for the murder he and

Chané had committed just over a year and a half before.

‘The law prescribes certain minimum sentences for serious offences. A

court can deviate from these prescribed sentences should substantial and

compelling circumstances justify a lighter sentence. Substantial and

compelling conditions in this regard are circumstances that individually or

cumulatively lead to the conclusion that the prescribed minimum sentence
set

out would be an injustice against the accused. Now substantial and

compelling circumstances must be based on material factors and cannot be

based on speculation or misplaced sympathy.

‘Because the crime to which the first count of murder relates was planned

and carried out with premeditation and also goes along with robbery with

aggravating circumstances, a sentence of life is prescribed. For the second

count of robbery with aggravated circumstances, a sentence of 15 years is

prescribed. There is not a prescribed sentence with regards to the third count

of corpse mutilation.

‘The presence or not of such material and compelling circumstances, as

well as sentencing where a minimum sentence is not prescribed, is judged

and weighed at the hand of three factors that are traditionally relevant during

sentencing: namely the seriousness of the crime, the interests of the

community and the personal circumstances of the offender. I must emphasise

that what the court must consider is the view of the interests of the

community, which is not the same as the opinion of the community.

‘Regarding the nature and severity of the offences, I must say that this

murder is, for me, one of the most distressing and gruesome imaginable.’
Van der Merwe recounted Maartens and Chané’s rituals and how, on more

than one occasion, they had slaughtered cats, which had been bought for this

purpose at pet shops.

‘The cats were taken apart and analysed, as the accused put it himself,’

Van der Merwe said. ‘At the beginning of February 2011, the accused and

Chané van Heerden had already begun searching for a person to kill, and it

seems that the purpose of this was inherently the same as what was done to

the cats, namely to take the body apart to analyse.

‘Chané had a desire or obsession to do this so-called stitching, and the

accused wanted to have a better understanding of death. The accused says,

and I accept, that he loved Chané van Heerden and still does, and that he

would not have committed these crimes without her. And she, too, says that

she would not have done it without him. He says they pushed each other or

moved towards it together.

‘It is thus not a case where one can say that the accused had been

influenced by a person who had a leading role or who had a dominant

influence over him. He also committed the offences for his own purposes.

The crime was carefully planned and executed with cold calculation.

‘The accused himself stabbed the deceased at least 28 times with a hunting
knife. They had in the long planning process considered how long they
would

be jailed if caught, but carried on regardless.’

Judge van der Merwe explained what had transpired in the flat.

‘The interests of the community must be strongly considered in this case.

The deceased was a hardworking and beloved young man who, by all

accounts, had a promising and meaningful future ahead of him. It is clear

that

the death of Michael van Eck hit his family very hard, and they will suffer
the

effects for a long time to come.

‘The interests of the community require that the courts impose heavy

penalties in cases like this, where a totally innocent, unsuspecting, promising

and beloved young man was lured in cold blood and killed to satisfy
macabre

fantasies and incomprehensible desires. Pertaining to the personal

circumstances of the accused: he is 26 years old, he went to school up to

Grade 10. He left school because he had psychological problems from

which,

it emerged from the evidence, he recovered well, and he had a steady job and

his own place at the time of the incident.

‘The accused is a first offender. He demonstrated signs outwardly and

verbally of remorse. I accept that his repentance is a genuine repentance. But

it is an emotion, and an emotion can again be overwhelmed by anything. Be

that as it may, as an expert also testified: the fact that the accused has
pleaded

guilty and accepted responsibility for what he’s done are indications that

there is the possibility of rehabilitation, because no rehabilitation can take

place without a person taking responsibility for what he has done.

‘The core question is thus whether a minimum sentence of life would, in

the light of the arguments and the factors I’ve considered against the
personal

circumstances of the accused, be unjust?’

With regards to the seriousness of the crime, the nature of the crime and

the interests of society, Judge van der Merwe accepted two important

considerations: the first was Dr Labuschagne’s report, in which he found that

should Maartens not receive meaningful and permanent rehabilitation, he

would remain a very real danger to society. Secondly, the judge accepted the

possibility that Maartens could be rehabilitated.

‘I sincerely hope that this will be the case,’ he said, hesitantly, knowing

well what South African prisons are like. ‘I can’t close my eyes to the real

barriers that exist regarding such rehabilitation.’

The judge again made it clear that the crime Maartens had committed
could not be attributed to mental illness. He was also concerned about

Maartens’ inability to explain why he could not restrain himself from

committing the deeds, which any reasonable person would not even have

considered.

‘It is thus not a case where one can say there is a prospect that

rehabilitation can be based on the healing of an underlying condition, or on

knowledge the accused now has as to why he did it, or why he could not

withhold himself from it. All I can say is that he is a first offender that could

possibly rehabilitate.’

The judge indicated that he could find no substantial and compelling

circumstances in the totality of the offences.

‘I thus have no choice but to sentence the accused to life concerning the

count of murder.’

The judge agreed with the concession made by the state and its experts that

there was no evidence suggesting Maartens should be declared a dangerous

criminal. He accepted that the robbery was not planned but committed on the

spur of the moment. Along with considering Maartens’ personal

circumstances, he found there to be substantial and compelling

circumstances

to justify diverting from the prescribed sentence of 15 years.

‘I found it fair to sentence the accused to 10 years on the count of robbery.

And in the light of all the circumstances, five years for the third count, of

corpse mutilation.’

Showing no emotion, De Nysschen got up to acknowledge the sentence.

‘As the court pleases,’ he said.

Nel got up with more vigour and appealed against the hefty sentence of life

imprisonment, which meant that the youthful 26-year-old would be 51 years

old before being able to apply for parole and the chance to set foot outside

again.

‘If it pleases the court, M’lord …’ Nel began.

‘Yes?’

‘It is my instruction to apply for leave to appeal. The facts are before the

court and therefore it is not required in my respectful submission that I

motivate this further, unless you request further arguments from my side.’

‘Are you ready to proceed with your application then?’ asked the judge.

‘Yes, I am. Thank you, M’lord. It is therefore my respectful submission

that the test at an application for leave to appeal is that another court would

have come to another decision. I can’t take it further than that. The facts are

before the court, as I have argued. As the court pleases.’

The judge turned his head.

‘Advocate de Nysschen, what do you say?’

Like a sports star who has already been awarded the gold medal and is now

being questioned on an irregularity, De Nysschen responded firmly.

‘As the court pleases. The state opposes the application. I mean, there is no

other court that would come to a different conclusion, M’lord. The court

literally took into consideration every aspect of the evidence regarding

sentencing.’

Advocate Nel indicated that he had no riposte.

Wasting no time, Judge van der Merwe delivered his judgment on the

appeal that same day.

‘In front of me is an application for leave to appeal. I believe that the

application is directed at the sentence of count one, murder, and although,

purely because of the uniqueness of this case, one’s first thought is to grant
it,

one has to, like always, go back to the principles involved. The question is,

can any other court reasonably come to the conclusion that a sentence of life

is unjust, and I mean, with reverence, that there is not such a possibility.

‘I am of intention to deny the application, but before I do that, I want to

express my hope that the accused, as it looked to me, listened carefully and

has taken the court’s recommendations to heart and realised that there can be
hope. The application for leave to appeal is thereby denied.’

Maartens did not move a muscle. He had been prepared for the outcome.

‘As the court pleases,’ said Nel.

‘As the court pleases,’ said De Nysschen.

‘Thank you, sirs, I am grateful to you and all the staff and the investigating

officer, Detective Nel. This thereby ends this sitting of the Circuit Court in

Virginia. The court adjourns.’

With this uneventful end to the proceedings, everyone in court stood up.

The reporters exhaled and gathered their notes.

But Henriëtte was volcanic. Underneath the surface, the lava was ready to

spill over. For her, it was not over. It could never be, not like this. She had no

son left to love, to hold, to visit in prison. She felt nothing but anger for what

this thing before her had done to tear up and destroy her and her loved ones’

lives.

As Maartens straightened his legs and prepared to walk down the short

flight of stairs, Henriëtte jumped up towards the rails. 40 Without warning,

she

drew back her arm and, with all the force she had, hit Maartens flat against

the back of his bare skull.

The sound echoed around the courtroom as gasps of horror and shock
erupted.

Naas followed close behind, trying to grasp his wife’s arms in his, but she

was writhing and shouting: ‘May you die in hell, you fucking dog! I hope
you

burn in hell!’

Rubbing his hand over the red-hot mark, Maartens looked at Henriëtte as if

she were a madwoman, then slowly continued walking down the dimly lit

steps into the dark depths of the courthouse.

***

Two-stage sentencing procedures create the means for the court to impose a

sentence and to determine later whether the sentence has had the desired

effect. The two-stage sentencing procedure should be encouraged and

expanded.

Chané van Heerden is serving her sentence at a female correctional centre

in

Gauteng. She is studying courses in theology and teaching art to fellow

inmates. She is a model prisoner.

Maartens van der Merwe is serving his sentence in a maximum-security

prison in the Free State. He has completed his matric certificate and is

planning to study further.

Henriëtte van Eck walks the path of her son’s murder once a month and
regularly puts flowers on his final resting place near Hennenman. She says

she’ll never forgive her son’s killers and that they must rot in jail.

The pair wrote love letters to each other until they mutually decided to end

the relationship in 2014. Chané allegedly cited the reason for this as ‘they

have both changed’. But Roy’s opinion on whether he thinks they will ever

get back together should they both be released was a resounding: ‘Hell,
yes!’

Notes

Chapter 3

Mike Behr, ‘The Monster of Welkom’, FHM, September 2012, pp. 58–

65.

Tom de Wet, ‘Onwettiges een van redes vir misdaad híér’, Volksblad, 16

September 2011, p. 2.

Gérard Labuschagne, ‘Features and investigative implications of muti

murder in South Africa’, Journal of Investigative Psychology and

Offender Profiling 1: 2004, p. 191–206.

4
Ibid.

Chapter 4

Behr, ‘The Monster of Welkom’, FHM, pp. 58–65.

Chapter 5

‘Lesers reageer sterk ná wrede moord in VS’, Volksblad, 5 April 2011, p.

2.

Vicus Bürger, ‘Vier dalk mafia se slagoffers: Lyke ná lang soektog op

dorp gekry’, Volksblad, 14 January 2009, p. 4.

‘Welkom’, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welkom

Marilyn Manson, ‘A Place in the Dirt’, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the

Valley of Death), Nothing and Interscope Records: 2000.

10 Marisa Phillips, ‘Grafmoord: Raaisel verdiep, talle vrae’, Volksblad, 5

April 2011, p. 1.

Chapter 7

11 Tom de Wet, ‘Verdagtes bly agter tralies: Vermoorde man se ma huil’,

Volksblad, 8 April 2011, p. 1.

Chapter 8

12 Jana van der Merwe, ‘Van Eck se “buitengewone” dood moet keerpunt

wees’, Volksblad, 14 April 2011, p. 1.

13 Jana van der Merwe, ‘Só onthou Michael se eks hom’, Volksblad, 14

April 2011, p. 2.

Chapter 9

14 Apostolic Faith Mission Church, http://www.afm-ags.org/

15 ‘Apostolic Faith Mission Church of God’,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Faith_Mission_Church_of_God

16 Ibid.

Chapter 10

17 Janet Howe Gaines, ‘Lilith – seductress, heroine or murderer’, 8

November 2014, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-

cultures-in-the-bible/people-inthe-bible/lilith/

18 About Religion, ‘Where does the legend of Lilith come from? Lilith

Adam’s first wife’, http://judaism.about.com/od/jewishculture/a/Where-

Does-The-Legend-Of-Lilith-Come-From.htm

Chapter 12

19 ‘ Dexter TV series’,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_%28TV_series%29

20 Dexterama, ‘Dark Passengers’,

http://dexter.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Passenger

Chapter 13

21 Tom de Wet, ‘Paartjie se tuin “wemel van katte”’, Volksblad, 8 April

2011, p. 2.

22 Tom de Wet, ‘Pa bid vir skisofrene verdagte in grafmoord’, Volksblad, 20

April 2011, p. 1.

23 Tom de Wet, ‘Beskuldigde in Welkomse gru-moord glimlag in hof’,

Volksblad, 21 May 2011, p. 1.

24 Tom de Wet, ‘Vermoorde, verdagte se ma’s ontmoet’, Volksblad, 5

August 2011, p. 2.

Chapter 14

25 Micki Pistorius, Strangers on the Street (Johannesburg: Penguin Books,

2002).

Chapter 16

26 Henk Lustig, ‘Dr. Kobus Jonker: God’s Detective’, Vice, 2 April 2010,

http://www.vice.com/print/dr-kobus-jonker-420-v17n4

27 André Damons, ‘Twee dalk “siek psigopate, wat moor vir plesier”’,

Volksblad, 8 April 2011, p. 7.

Chapter 17

28 Paul Babiak & Robert Hare, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to

Work (New York: Harper Collins, 2006).

Chapter 18

29 Jerzy Kunz & Adam Gross, ‘Victim’s scalp on the killer’s head: An

unusual case of criminal postmortem mutilation’, The American Journal

of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 22(3), 2001, pp. 327–331.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

32 Psych Central, ‘Schizoid personality disorder symptoms’, 5 February

2014, http://psychcentral.com/disorders/schizoid-personality-disorder-

symptoms/

Chapter 19

33 ‘Jeffery Dahmer’, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer

Chapter 20

34 Behr, ‘The Monster of Welkom’, FHM, pp. 58–65.

35 Tom de Wet, ‘Pa praat eksklusief’, Volksblad, 7 April 2011, p. 1.

36 De Wet, ‘Paartjie se tuin “wemel van katte”’.

Chapter 22

37 Laetitia Pople, ‘SA se Bonnie en Clyde herleef op die silwerdoek’, Beeld,

8 July 2013, p. 15.

Chapter 24

38 National Institute of Mental Health, ‘What is schizophrenia?’,

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

39 Marisa Phillips, ‘Re: “die ingewande verwyder, uitgehaal”’, Volksblad, 7

April 2011, p. 7.

Chapter 29

40 Mike van Rooyen, ‘Klap weergalm in hof: Dag van drama’, Volksblad, 3

November 2012, p. 1.

Bibliography

Articles

‘Lesers reageer sterk ná wrede moord in VS’. Volksblad, 5 April 2011

Behr, Mike. ‘The Monster of Welkom’. FHM, September 2012

Bürger, Vicus. ‘Vier dalk mafia se slagoffers Lyke ná lang soektog op dorp

gekry’. Volksblad, 14 January 2009

Damons, André. ‘Twee dalk “siek psigopate, wat moor vir plesier”’.

Volksblad, 8 April 2011

De Wet, Tom. ‘Beskuldigde in Welkomse gru-moord glimlag in hof’.

Volksblad, 21 May 2011

———. ‘Onwettiges een van redes vir misdaad híér’. Volksblad, 16

September 2011

———. ‘Paartjie se tuin “wemel van katte”’. Volksblad, 8 April 2011

———. ‘Pa bid vir skisofrene verdagte in grafmoord’. Volksblad, 20 April

2011

———. ‘Pa praat eksklusief’. Volksblad, 7 April 2011

———. ‘Verdagtes bly agter tralies: Vermoorde man se ma huil’. Volksblad,

8 April 2011

———. ‘Vermoorde, verdagte se ma’s ontmoet’. Volksblad, 5 August 2011

Gaines, Janet Howe. ‘Lilith: Seductress, heroine or murderer’.

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-

bible/people-in-the-bible/lilith/ (last accessed 8 November 2014)

Kunz, Jerzy, and Adam Gross. ‘Victim’s scalp on the killer’s head: An

unusual case of criminal postmortem mutilation’. The American Journal

of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 22(3): 2001

Labuschagne, Gérard. ‘Features and investigative implications of muti

murder in South Africa’. Journal of Investigative Psychology and

Offender Profiling, 1: 2004

Lustig, Henk. ‘Dr. Kobus Jonker: God’s Detective’. Vice, 2 April 2010.

http://www.vice.com/print/dr-kobus-jonker-420-v17n4

Phillips, Marisa. ‘Grafmoord: Raaisel verdiep, talle vrae’. Volksblad, 5 April

2011

———. ‘Re: “die ingewande verwyder, uitgehaal”’. Volksblad, 7 April 2011

Pople, Laetitia. ‘SA se Bonnie en Clyde herleef op die silwerdoek’. Beeld, 8

July 2013

Van der Merwe, Jana. ‘Só onthou Michael se eks hom’. Volksblad, 14 April

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———. ‘Van Eck se “buitengewone” dood moet keerpunt wees’. Volksblad,

14 April 2011

Van Rooyen, Mike. ‘Klap weergalm in hof: Dag van drama’. Volksblad, 3

November 2012

Books

Babiak, Paul, and Robert Hare. Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to

Work. New York: Harper Collins, 2006

Pistorius, Micki. Strangers on the Street. Johannesburg: Penguin Books,

2002

Songs

Manson, Marilyn, ‘A place in the dirt’ from the album Holy Wood ( In the

Shadow of the Valley of Death). Nothing and Interscope Records: 2000

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Legend-Of-Lilith-Come-From.htm

Apostolic Faith Mission Church. http://www.afm-ags.org/

Dexterama. ‘Dark Passengers’. http://dexter.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Passenger

National Institute of Mental Health. ‘What is Schizophrenia?’

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

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symptoms/ (last accessed 5 February 2014)

Wikipedia. ‘Apostolic Faith Mission Church of God’.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Faith_Mission_Church_of_God

———. ‘ Dexter (TV Series)’.

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———. ‘Jeffery Dahmer’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer

———. ‘Welkom’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welkom

© Molly Green

Lieutenant Ogies Nel was the detective who led the investigation that
resulted

in the capture and, finally, the conviction of the murderers of Michael van

Eck
© Supplied to Volksblad

Warrant Officer Fanie du Plessis from the police’s K-9 Unit in Bethlehem

with his search-and-rescue dog, Xander, at the scene of the crime in the

Welkom cemetery. A lot of blood was found at this spot, which may have

marked where Michael had breathed his last. Behind them is the Jewish

chapel where Chané van Heerden waited for her victim

© Facebook/Group: In Loving Memory of Michael van Eck

Henriëtte van Eck with her son, Michael, at a local seafood restaurant. This

was one of the last pictures taken of them. In the photograph Michael is seen

wearing the very same T-shirt he wore on the night of his murder
© Facebook/Group: In Loving Memory of Michael van Eck

Henriëtte and Michael in his younger years. Mother and son shared an

exceptionally close bond

© Facebook/Group: In Loving Memory of Michael van Eck

Michael van Eck as a young boy

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A tall tumbler with a unique floral pattern was left behind in the graveyard.

Identical glasses were later found in the flat of the accused

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

The shallow grave the murderers dug, using knives and spoons, in which to

dump the dismembered torso of the victim

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Disturbing self-portraits were found on the walls of the garden flat Chané
van

Heerden shared with her boyfriend, Maartens van der Merwe, in Unicor

Street, St Helena. She painted this series of portraits at college as part of the

theme ‘Inner beauty vs Outer Beauty’

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Another self-portrait found inside the flat

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Rinsed knives and tumblers found next to the sink in the couple’s kitchen.

The police noted that the glasses were identical to the glass left behind at the

scene of the crime. The knives Chané and Maartens used in the attack on

Michael were a butcher’s knife (the larger of the two in the photograph) and
a

hunting knife (as seen on the front cover)

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A recurrent theme throughout Chané’s artworks, notes and scrapbooks is her

intense obsession with eyes. This photo shows the lyrics she had copied
down

from a song by Marilyn Manson

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A shocking discovery: the victim’s face was found in a white plastic bag

inside the freezer compartment of the couple’s fridge between frozen meat

and vegetables
© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A burnt voodoo doll found and photographed inside the flat. Also found
were

the skinned skull of a cat, immersed in soapy water, satanic symbols, horror

literature and other esoteric paraphernalia, all adding to the ghoulish

atmosphere that permeated the flat

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Blades that were probably used by Chané to flay animal and human skin
were

found in a small blue toolbox. The blades were rusted but still sharp
© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Another apparent self-portrait of Chané, this time with bleeding black eyes.

These paintings were perhaps symbolic of how she saw herself at that point

in her life
© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A jar with money was found on top of the fridge, labelled ‘The spawn of our

prostitution’. The hundred-rand notes and some change had belonged to the

victim
© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

In a sick twist, police discovered a folded newspaper with the victim’s photo,

as well as a hardcover notebook into which Chané had copied a Volksblad

article about the murder as a persanal memento

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Chané’s scrapbook with one of her many sketches. On the cover is a drawing

of an angel that is reminiscent of Maartens’ so-called demonic friend, Lilith.

Again the eyes are black and empty

© SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A police officer dressed in protective clothing gathers forensic evidence in

the couple’s garden, where the remains of the victim and several cats were
found in black plastic bags

© WO Ernst de Ru/SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Chané met her prospective victim just days before the murder, on the social

networking site 2Go. Here she documented the details of the stranger she
and

Maartens planned to kill: his name, sex, age and his place of abode
© Facebook

Maartens and Chané had been going steady for only four months when they

planned and executed the killing

© Facebook

Maartens is seen kneeling in one of his Facebook profile pictures. This photo

was allegedly taken during one of the couple’s bizarre, made-up rituals
© SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A mug shot taken of Chané on the night of her arrest. She looks tired, and
her

eyes appear dead and empty

© SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

A police officer independent of the investigation interviews Chané before

she

accompanies a team of officers to the crime scenes. She cooperated fully and

was even in good spirits after her arrest

© SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Maartens is seen with a grin on his face as he points out where the rest of the

victim’s body parts are buried in the garden outside the flat he shared with

Chané
© SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

Chané in the rain, cigarette in hand, at the scene of the crime on the night of

her arrest
© SAPS Local Criminal Record Centre Welkom

The soiled jeans and torn T-shirt of the victim, which were recovered in the

Welkom cemetery
© Charl Devenish/Foto24/ Volksblad

Maartens and Chané hold hands in the Virginia Circuit Court on 21

November 2011, the day their trial was due to start. Chané eventually stood

trial first, as Maartens was sent for psychiatric evaluation. Behind them,
from

left to right, are Maartens' mother, Salomé, and the parents of the victim,

Naas and Henriëtte van Eck

© Charl Devenish/Foto24/ Volksblad

Advocate Johan de Nysschen from Bloemfontein not only successfully

prosecuted the murderers, he also ensured that they would be removed from

society for at least two decades

© Charl Devenish/Foto24/ Volksblad

Michael’s distraught parents, Naas and Henriëtte, attended every court

appearance of the accused. They were determined to hear every detail of

their

son’s death
© Conrad Bornman/Foto24/ Volksblad

Professor Dap Louw, a forensic psychologist from Bloemfontein, speaks to

Maartens in the Virginia Circuit Court. Louw claims that he had seen the
true

soul of a murderer in the holding cells

Document Outline

Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Author’s note
1: Discovering the murder scene
2: The search
3: Leading the pack
4: The day of the murder
5: Along came a little girl
6: The cell
7: The courtroom
8: The funeral
9: The monster of Welkom
10: Norman and Lilith
11: The birth of a relationship
12: The cemetery
13: Making fantasy a reality
14: The advocate
15: The dog that was spared
16: Satan’s spawn?
17: Psycho
18: Serial skinner
19: Profiling a dangerous criminal
20: The grave murder
21: Throwing away the key
22: A cry for help – or not?
23: Judgment Day
24: Sleepwalker
25: Maartens in the dock
26: Voice from the grave
27: The naked soul of a murderer
28: Nightmares
29: Justice is served
Notes
Bibliography
Photo Section
 Table of Contents
Author’s note
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 Norman and Lilith
11 The birth of a relationship
12 The cemetery
13 Making fantasy a reality
14 The advocate
15 The dog that was spared
16 Satan’s spawn?
17 Psycho
18 Serial skinner
19 Profiling a dangerous criminal
20 The grave murder
21 Throwing away the key
22 A cry for help – or not?
23 Judgment Day
24 Sleepwalker
25 Maartens in the dock
26 Voice from the grave
27 The naked soul of a murderer
28 Nightmares
29 Justice is served
Notes
Bibliography
.12
.23
’33
T
G
I
B
V
‘
M
10 M
12 J
13 J
14 A
17 J
18 A
19 ‘
20 D