Plett murder: Pensioners share 'terror' after suspect's arrest

Three Sedgefield pensioners could hardly believe their eyes when they saw news reports that their former neighbour — who they allege dragged them by the hair, kicked them in the street and once even held them against their will in a car — had been arrested for murder.

This is the latest in a string of reports from women who have had, at times violent, encounters with Bevan van Druten, who this week was charged in connection with the shock slaying of Nicky van Heerden.

In a series of photographs seen by IOL, one of them depicting the day the accused allegedly jumped in front of their car and refused to let them leave, the women claim Van Druten terrorised them for years before they approached police for a protection order.

And though the order and Van Druten’s move to nearby Plettenberg Bay put a stop to the alleged harassment, the women said news of his arrest reopened old wounds — news that broke after the 53-year-old driftwood sculptor handed himself over to police in the early hours of Monday.

His arrest followed the discovery of Van Heerden’s body on a sand dune next to his bakkie at Keurbooms Beach the night before.

The 54-year-old ex-detective, whose first name was Anneke, had suffered multiple injuries, according to police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg.

Van Druten made his first appearance in the Plettenberg Bay Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The case was postponed to Monday to allow him to place a lawyer on record and decide whether he will apply for bail.

“He should not apply for bail,” one of the three women, who said Van Druten made their lives a living hell for three years, told IOL on Thursday.

They are not the only women to have sought protection.

IOL reported exclusively on Thursday that at least six women are known to have filed, or attempted to file, protection orders against Van Druten.

Van Druten, who lived in Wilderness but recently moved to Plettenberg Bay, is well known along the Garden Route for his sculptures and was frequently featured in the media with his pieces.

He also sold his work internationally.

But just as well known as he was for his artistic talent, he was, according to residents, also infamous in Wilderness for his "temper and for picking fights".

An elderly woman said he had "tormented" her for a long time, but the final straw came on January 23, 2024.

That was when Van Druten allegedly refused to let them leave in their car as they tried to take their cleaner home.

“My friend and I and our two dogs decided to take our domestic worker to the taxi rank,” the 62-year-old said on condition she not be named.

“As we got out of the driveway, there Bevan was in front of our car and his car in front of the gate.”

She said he “basically held us hostage for about an hour”.

“We were in the vehicle," she said.

"And because we had our phones with us, I called [a security company] and they heard everything Bevan said.

"Our domestic worker took a picture and the security company and the police arrived … they then managed to talk him down and got him across the road.

"They also told him to reverse his car back to his property. The police decided to take us to the station where we gave our statements.”

IOL is in possession of the statement and the case number.

Asked to confirm the case number, police spokesman Warrant Officer Chris Spies said: “It is not within our scope or authority to verify case numbers.”

The women said her ordeal was not the only incident involving Van Druten.

In a separate incident in 2023, the second woman said she and a friend were sitting on the veranda at her house, chatting.

“Bevan then [allegedly] arrived at the gate at about 11pm,” she said, also refusing to be named.

“I walked out to the gate; he pushed it onto my stomach.

"I slapped him … he then pulled my hair and punched me, dragged me to the pavement. I was then on the ground and he was kicking me.”

The third woman, 66, said she started shouting after seeing what he had allegedly done to her friend.

“He came over to me and he pulled my right arm and kicked my legs from underneath me. It’s apparently a judo or martial arts move.

"I broke a bone in my hand, which then required an operation.”

She said they shouted for their other friend to call the police.

“He then ran away, which was peculiar because it was 11pm at night. He was in this stupid hat. What on earth was he doing coming to attack at 11pm at night?”

Police arrived shortly afterwards, but the women said they were too afraid to go onto Van Druten's property because he had two aggressive dogs.

“They told us to just lock ourselves inside the house and come give them a statement the next morning, which we did.”

IOL is also in possession of the statement and the case number.

In another incident in late 2023, the 66-year-old woman said that a few days later she and her friend went out and returned at about 9.30am.

“He was there again, ready to harass us,” she said.

“But we just shuttled into the house and ignored him.”

She said the alleged harassment continued whenever she went to the gate.

“Every time I went out, he was there. He came to know my routine, so he would always be there.”

She said that on one occasion, while she was taking the dogs for a walk, he arrived at her gate with a rope and strangled her.

“Luckily my friend had a panic button that she walked around the house with, around her neck, for two years.”

They said they finally found peace once the murder-accused was allegedly forced to leave the property where he had been living.

As previously reported, multiple women have now come forward saying they took out protection orders against Van Druten prior to his arrest.

Copies of protection orders, seen by IOL, show the Knysna Magistrate’s Court granted both interim and final orders under the Domestic Violence Act and the Protection from Harassment Act.

In some cases, warrants for arrest were authorised when orders were breached.

The women painted a picture of repeated alleged abuse, with several saying they were afraid to run into Van Druten and the behaviour had left them anxious and on edge.

Van Heerden, who lived in Knysna, was also believed to have sent a strange, incoherent 10-minute voice note shortly before her death.

In the rambling message, Van Heerden appeared agitated and manic as she addressed people who, she said, were supporting a man she described as an enemy of Van Druten by following his WhatsApp group.

She urged them to stop following what she referred to as the “demon of lizards” and to follow Van Druten instead.

The recording was sent to several WhatsApp contacts and has been described by some as "disturbing".

Her brother-in-law and family spokesperson, Hein Bruwer, previously said the tragedy had devastated all who knew and loved Van Heerden.

Bruwer said Van Heerden was a loving, lively person who meant a great deal to those close to her.

“She was adventurous and loved being outdoors,” he said.

“She had a big personality and was always up for something new.

"Nicky lived boldly and was not afraid of anything.”

Bruwer said Van Heerden had been with Van Druten on Saturday, and that some family members met him for the very first time that day.

Meanwhile, activist and friend Kharma Rossi was organising a gathering for Monday, the same day Van Druten was expected to appear in court.

"We will meet for a silent, peaceful gathering in New Horizon," she said on social media.

She also asked her followers to sign a petition to have a public violent offenders list in SA.

"Gender-based violence thrives in silence, secrecy, and anonymity," Rossi said.

"We are told to mind our own business, to look away, to stay out of it.

"But violence survives when communities don’t ask questions."