St Stithians community mourns lost young lives
As the investigation continues, schools and communities nationwide have united in an overwhelming outpouring of grief and support for the families of Cameron Waldeck-Cooks and Ethan Coetzee, the two teenagers found dead at a lodge in Sabie, Mpumalanga.
The St Stithians College community has been plunged into mourning following the deaths of 17-year-old Grade 11 pupil Cameron Waldeck-Cooks and 19-year-old Class of 2025 alumnus Ethan Coetzee, whose bodies were found by cleaning staff at a self-catering lodge outside Sabie, Mpumalanga, on the morning of August 3.
Mpumalanga police have now opened a murder investigation after post-mortem findings shed new light on the circumstances of the teenagers’ deaths. Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo had earlier confirmed that an inquest docket was opened before the post-mortem results were known.
Read more: St Stithians community mourns two teenagers
Those results suggest Cameron may have been strangled, while Ethan may have taken his own life. Police have not ruled out the possibility of a drug overdose. “The investigation is still continuing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Further updates will be provided once they become available to the Randburg Sun.
News of the tragedy has sent shockwaves far beyond the St Stithians community, prompting an outpouring of condolences from schools across the country. Durban Girls’ College, St John’s College, Michael Mount Waldorf School, HeronBridge College, Fourways High School, De La Salle Holy Cross College, Clifton School, Reddam House Bedfordview, Reddam House Helderfontein, St Anne’s Diocesan College, St Teresa’s School, and Redhill School were among those offering messages of comfort and support to the families and the wider Saints community.
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Tributes have also poured in from members of the public on social media, with the pair remembered as kind, vibrant, and full of promise. Wellwishers, including Deirdre Stodel Cargill, Margie Winter, Ann Albert, Salo Moodley, Merle O’Sullivan, Ros Honey Jordan, Barbara Houghton, Astrid Kalify Rundle, and Bev Jacobs, shared messages of love, strength, and condolence for the grieving families.
The St Stithians community, along with schools and residents across South Africa, continues to hold the Waldeck-Cooks and Coetzee families close in thought and prayer as the investigation continues.
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