The trial of Frederik Stapelberg, who faces two counts of premeditated murder and two counts of attempted murder, continued at the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court on August 25.

The charges stem from the deaths of Alberton mother Nadine Terblanche and her nine-year-old son, Ruandré Vorster, in November 2023. Stapelberg has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Two witnesses testified during the latest proceedings: Nicole Wearne, who dealt with Terblanche’s vehicle warranty plan and financial adviser Quintin Cass, who managed a substantial investment made by Terblanche.

Their evidence focused on financial transactions, telephone numbers and email addresses associated with Terblanche, as well as a disputed email received after her death.

Vehicle plan and banking details

Nicole Wearne told the court that Terblanche took out a motor warranty plan for a white 2019 Ford Ranger in September 2023.

A debit order of R853 was submitted on December 1, 2023, but was unsuccessful. Wearne said correspondence was then sent to the client informing her that the payment had been declined.

Several days later, the company received an email from an email address associated with Freddie Stapelberg, requesting that the banking details for the plan be changed. The company responded by requesting new banking details and a contact number for security purposes.

Updated banking details were subsequently supplied, and the debit order was later successfully processed from the new bank account.

Wearne confirmed that the company treated the request as an instruction to replace the existing banking details, rather than as the addition of a second or backup bank account.

Under cross-examination, Wearne rejected the suggestion that the second telephone number was automatically a backup contact who could operate the plan.

She explained that the warranty plan had one authorised holder. If another person needed to deal with the company, the policyholder would have to provide verbal or written authorisation.

Wearne also explained that when someone contacted the company using a number on the client’s profile, staff would first verify the person’s identity before releasing information.

R3.75m investment

Cass told the court that he knew Terblanche as a client after she was referred to him by her aunt. As a financial adviser, Cass assisted her with investing R3.75 million, which he said she had inherited.

The investment was made through Momentum, with the final payment completing the R3.75m investment on May 12, 2022. Eight days later, on May 20, Terblanche withdrew about R2.04 million.

Cass said she had told him that she wanted to buy a property and that the withdrawal was made for that purpose. The court heard that the property was bought for cash and became part of Terblanche’s estate.

Cass said the remaining investment was approximately R1.71m, although interest would have affected the exact figure.

About 55 withdrawals

The financial adviser testified that Terblanche subsequently made frequent withdrawals from the remaining investment.

He estimated that there were about 55 withdrawals over 12 months, during which the money was exhausted.

The final withdrawal was about R15 000 on May 17, 2023. Cass described the pattern as highly unusual, saying it was unlike anything he had seen before. He said Terblanche was regularly warned that the withdrawals were reducing her capital and the income it could generate.

In cross-examination, Cass said Terblanche would generally first phone him to explain what she needed and would then send an email or WhatsApp instruction.

He said she often told him that she needed the money for responsibilities and would say that she believed the latest withdrawal would be her last.

Cass testified that she was frequently emotional during these conversations and sometimes cried.
He later clarified that he could not say exactly what caused her emotional state.

He said she was sometimes unable to speak clearly because she was so emotional.

Defence questions alleged pill addiction

The defence questioned Cass about an alleged addiction to pills, suggesting that money withdrawn from the investment had been used to pay a supplier.

Cass repeatedly said he had no knowledge of any pill addiction and that Terblanche had never told him that she was addicted to pills. He also said there was nothing inherently wrong with a client withdrawing money from an investment because it was the client’s money.

However, he said he had advised Terblanche against repeatedly drawing down her capital because it was intended to support her financially in the future. Cass confirmed that his firm had communicated the implications of the withdrawals to her.

Email received after Terblanche’s death

One of the most significant issues raised during Cass’s testimony was an email received on December 14, 2023, more than two weeks after Terblanche died on November 27.

The email was received from an address associated with Terblanche and had the subject line “my last will”. The email contained purported instructions about the distribution of her assets, including her house, car, jewellery and household belongings.

It also referred to Stapelberg looking after Terblanche’s daughter and being allowed to remain in the house.

Cass told the court that receiving an email apparently from a deceased person was highly unusual. He said he informed members of Terblanche’s family and that they were confused. During questioning, he confirmed that the family indicated that Terblanche could not have written the email because of the timing.

Earlier will and estate

The court heard that Cass’s firm had assisted Terblanche in preparing a will, which was signed on June 15, 2022, shortly after the investment was made.

According to Cass, the original will provided for Terblanche’s biological children to receive the remainder of her estate. The house bought with the R2.04m withdrawal would form part of the estate.

Cass said the original will did not contain a provision giving Stapelberg a right of occupation or use of the property. He explained that the later email appeared to contain an instruction that Stapelberg could remain in the house and look after Terblanche’s daughter.

Cass nevertheless stressed that he did not know any new formal will having been made after the 2022 document. He also confirmed that Terblanche was legally free to make another will without informing him.

Statements to police

The defence also questioned Cass about statements he had made to police. He initially could not remember how many statements he had made, but explained that a police officer had first taken notes and later returned as part of the formal statement process.

A typed statement was ultimately handed in as an exhibit. In the statement, Cass recorded that Terblanche had been warned that her frequent withdrawals were affecting her capital and monthly income.

He also recorded that withdrawals were made frequently and sometimes at unusual times and that she sometimes cried when requesting money. Cass stood by the substance of the statement.

The defence again put it to him that the money had been used to fund Terblanche’s alleged pill addiction, but he maintained that he did not know of this.

The matter has been postponed to Wednesday, September 2, when proceedings will continue at the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court.

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