In a series of more than 100 videos, former Idols SA winner Karin Kortje shared how her then-boyfriend’s 2006 murder of guest house owner Renate Kellerman impacted her life.
The 43-year-old Karin shared her story on TikTok (@karin_kortje) in a series of videos depicting healing and a new lease on life. In the videos numbered 105 to 110, Karin talks about the night of Renate’s murder.
On 13 July 2006, Karin and Jabu Mlotshwa (a member of her management team) returned to a guest house in Durbanville, where Karin and her then-boyfriend, Cheslyn Williams, were staying while she shot a television advertisement.
She had tried to get a hold of Cheslyn throughout the day, and he said he was spending time with his father.
She said when she finished work, she thought about driving to Elsies River, where Cheslyn’s mother lived, to fetch him.
However, Jabu advised her that he might be sleeping as it was already past 2am and that they should rather return to the guest house.
When they got there, she said she noticed that Renate’s vehicle was not in the driveway as usual. The doors to the guest house were unlocked and although some lights were on in the house, no one appeared to be home.
She noticed that the reception area was a bit of a mess and this is when she got an unsettling feeling. When she went to the kitchen, she noticed unwashed dishes and Renate’s handbag on the floor, with some of the contents strewn across the floor and some on the kitchen counter.
She mentioned to Jabu that something was not quite right, considering the missing vehicle, the lights and the state of the reception and kitchen area. Jabu urged her to go to bed, thinking that Renate ‘took a drive’ and that all would be sorted in the morning.
So they went upstairs to their bedrooms, where Karin realised that her door was not locked.
Watch:
@karin_kortje Part 107 #Godisinit #NUWEDAG #healing #waarheidmaakvry #vredeinmyhart #verlossing ♬ original sound – Karin Kortje
Throughout the next few videos, Karin describes the moment she discovered Renate’s body in her room. This occurred around 4:20am.
‘I opened the door. I didn’t say anything to Jabu at that moment. I saw her lying there on the floor as I opened the door.’
‘At first, I just looked. I think Jabu was not in the room just yet but she must’ve looked back or something because I heard her screaming. She screamed and screamed and screamed.’
‘I stood there and looked and thought, “What is this I’m looking at? What am I seeing?” Jabu was screaming, “Come Karin, come!” I was quiet. I entered the room a bit and looked around.’
‘The first thing I noticed was that Cheslyn’s bags were missing, his suitcase. That’s when I knew, he was there. That’s when I knew he was responsible. And as I was standing there, trying to make sense of what was going on, I didn’t say a word. I just heard Jabu screaming the whole time. “Come Karin, come! Come, please!”.
Karin and Jabu then found Renate’s four-year-old son in another bedroom and led him out of the house as she believed that she could not leave him there alone.
‘I was obviously in shock but (…) I had to take control of the situation. The Lord kept me strong during that time. So I put him in the back of [our] car. I got in and I drove.’
She said she didn’t know where the Durbanville police station was, so she drove to a friend in Eerste River. ‘As we drove out of Durban Road, I saw a roadblock.’
She drove to the roadblock, where she said she broke down.
‘I called the police guy and I told him, “You have to go back to that house that we came from now. The woman, she’s dead,”‘ she explained tearfully.
‘The policeman got into the rental car and drove back to the house.’
They were accompanied by a police van.
‘I didn’t want to go back into the house. I just couldn’t.’
While the police were in the house, Jabu brought her phone to Karin. Jabu’s boyfriend was on the line. “You have to make a decision now, you have to decide whether you’re going to stick with this man or are you going to put your child first?,” he told her.
Karin then called the investigator, whom she then gave her suspicions to. At the time, police confirmed that Renate had suffered ‘severe stab wounds around her body’ and her face had been covered with a duvet, IOL reported.
The 21-year-old Cheslyn was subsequently arrested and charged with the murder and attempted rape of Renate. He was sentenced to life in prison but died from leukaemia in 2015.
Compiled by Ilze-Mari Van Zyl
First published by Cape Town etc
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