Francois Pretorius, a jeweller in Bethal who faces double murder charges of Dr. Hannes and Ms Ibel Beukes, appeared in the Bethal Magistrate’s Court last week. Pretorius is accused of murdering the couple on 18 March 2020, and was arrested on 26 March after an extensive manhunt. W/O Veldman testified that the crime took place in the kitchen of the house, and the scene was clearly cleane dup in attempt to conceal the act. According to W/O Veldman, he could could see where the deceased were seated in the kitchen. SAPS investigators found blood on the porch, where samples were collected. The SAPS also recovered the clothes that Pretorius used to clean up the kitchen, which he burned afterwards, along with part of a flashlight.

According to W/O Veldman, Pretorius left a letter to his wife where he admitted to have killed the couple by hitting them with a durable, metal flashlight. “It was definitely not a once-off shot, they were hit severely with the flashlight,” the W/O said. After the fact, Pretorius phoned his wife and told her the kitchen was dirty and asked her why there was nothing with which to clean the kitchen. His wife brought cleaning agents to the jewellery store. Pretorius asked his wife and children to help him clean the kitchen until 23:30. According to W/O Veldman, Pretorius owes a combined amount of R148 000 in arrear rental fees and electricity charges at both his house and store. In the letter to his wife, Pretorius apologized, and stated that he took all the money and gold from the shop before he left. There was no indication that he was planning to return. It has been stated that the deceased couple had business to cinduct with Pretorius. “Mr Pretorius and the Beukes couple had a quarrel about Jesus, and he lost his temper and killed them,” W/O Veldman stated. Pretorius has been slated as a flight risk, and according to information at hand, remains in custody.