The long-running double murder case of Alberton mother Nadine Terblanche and her son, Ruandré Vorster, was postponed again, with the matter now standing down to April 13 due to the continued shortage of psychiatric beds.

Frederick ‘Freddie’ Stapelberg, accused of orchestrating the brutal killings, is still awaiting admission to a state mental health facility for observation and evaluation.

During the latest court appearance, it emerged that Stapelberg is now number 79 on the waiting list for a psychiatric bed, an improvement from previous months, but still far from resolution.

The case was heard at the Johannesburg High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, where the State prosecutor confirmed that no bed had yet become available.

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The persistent delays again stalled proceedings, prolonging an already drawn-out process that has tested the patience and resilience of the victims’ families.

The postponement comes as February marks one year since Stapelberg’s co-accused Pardon Danhire, a gardener, was sentenced after pleading guilty to the murders.

Danhire admitted to carrying out the killings after being promised payment by Stapelberg. Danhire received a sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment for premeditated murder, with a second 25-year sentence suspended for five years.

He has since agreed to testify for the State.

Despite Danhire’s conviction, the case against Stapelberg, who faces two counts of premeditated murder and two of attempted murder, has failed to progress.

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His trial was separated from that of Danhire earlier last year, but has been repeatedly postponed due to the lack of space in South Africa’s overburdened forensic mental health system.

For the Terblanche family, each delay compounds their grief. Nadine’s mother, Carol Terblanche, has previously spoken of the emotional toll of returning to court only to be told that justice must wait again.

As the matter edges closer to two years since the murders in November 2023, the absence of a psychiatric placement continues to undermine momentum in the case.

With Stapelberg still awaiting evaluation and no firm indication of when a bed will become available, the pursuit of justice remains on hold, postponed not by legal complexity but by systemic constraint.