7de Laan actor arrested for murder is not a current cast member

South Africans across the land are wondering who the culprit is after news emerged that a 7de Laan actor had killed his young boyfriend and tried to take his own life afterwards. 

Twitter account @beast_of_news shared a video of a communication officer identified as Warrant Officer Barbara-Anne Ferierra as she shared a debrief following a 10111 call to a murder scene in Norkem Park. 

POINT OF CORRECTION: Both the deceased (29) and the arrested (50) are men. The actor is a 50-year-old man who is in hospital, and his partner, 29-year-old male (deceased).

— BEAST OF NEWS (@BEAST_OF_NEWS) April 13, 2023

“We found one body that was shot dead and then we arrested the suspect. The suspect tried to commit suicide by drinking sleeping tablets so he is detained at the Tembisa Hospital right now.”

According to EWN, the suspect was at the hospital being treated for an apparent overdose.

Warrant Officer Ferierra also confirmed that the suspect, 50, was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm and that he would be charged for that in addition to being charged with the murder of his 29-year-old lover. 

‘Not a current cast member’

Speaking to The Citizen, 7de Laan’s public relations manager Kayleen Bessit said that the production was currently only able to confirm that it’s not a current cast member. 

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At the time of writing, the production house was still waiting to hear back from police about the particulars of the crime and who the suspect was before issuing an official statement. 

“Production has made efforts to establish whom the said individual might be however as per the law, a suspect’s identity cannot be disclosed until such time that they have been formally charged.

We can however confirm that the individual in question is not part of the current cast. It is believed the suspect was an actor who featured in a number of South African soap operas, but it is still unclear as to which,” said 7de Laan.

The production and the channel also indicated that they are deeply saddened and disturbed by the reports circulating in the media regarding the tragic incident.

“As it stands, we have no knowledge of the identity of the individual involved and would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the victim’s family and friends.”

50-year-old ‘7de Laan’ actors 

Due to the fact that the identity of the actor has been withheld as they are yet to appear in court and be given a chance to plead, social media users have gone into a frenzy trying to deduce which of the show’s actors may have been embroiled in the crime. 

Most of the names topping the social media suspect list are those of actors who are currently on the show and as previously confirmed by 7de Laan’s public relations manager, the man in custody is not a current cast member. 

This also means that production would not be affected in any way. 

Despite being linked to 7de Laan, the actor in question is also said to have acted in a number of local television productions.

At the time of writing, Norkem Park police are still investigating the case and said that the suspect would appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court in due course. 

*This article has been amended to reflect additional comments by 7de Laan and SABC2.

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