‘It Was an Absolute Bloodbath’: Suspect Named in Brutal Murder of Elderly Plett Couple

The man arrested in connection with the murder of a couple in their seventies at their farm outside Plettenberg Bay last week has been identified as Christiaan Branders.

Dr Jane Luck and her husband, Rolf , were found brutally killed at their farmhouse in the Crags on Thursday night.

The Court Appearance

Branders, 34, made his first court appearance at the Uniondale Magistrate Court on Monday.

He appeared on charges of possession of suspected stolen property as well as possession of drugs. A small quantity of drugs was allegedly found during the initial arrest.

The case was postponed to 20 April for further investigation, and Branders was remanded in custody.

He is also expected to appear in the Plettenberg Bay Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday for the double murder.

The Arrest

Branders was allegedly spotted driving the couple’s Mercedes-Benz at high speed along the R339 towards Uniondale that night, after being captured by a licence plate recognition camera.

The vehicle was later flagged on a local security WhatsApp group.

Police responded to the registered address linked to the car, where they discovered the bodies, and launched a manhunt for the vehicle.

The car was later found overturned near Uniondale, and Branders allegedly fled on foot, covered in blood, but was apprehended shortly afterwards.

The Victims

Jane and Rolf were 71 and 77 years old respectively.

Jane was a psychologist and art therapist who spent her career helping people work through their darkest moments. She ran the local Al-Anon support group, helped clear alien vegetation from the farm, and kept paths open down to the river so her grandchildren could run to Whisky Creek to swim and fish.

Rolf was a geophysicist, an academic, well-read, and by his daughter’s account, one of the most intelligent people she has ever known.

The Daughter’s Account

Their daughter, Charlotte , told IOL she was in Knysna at the time of the grim discovery.

“I kept calling our neighbours, saying please go and check on my parents. They haven’t fetched Leo from his friend from soccer, and it’s not like them.”

She raced back the moment she was told what had happened.

“It was an absolute bloodbath. All I can say is it was a massacre. I don’t want to describe any of the injuries. It’s too violent.”

The Bottom Line

A beloved psychologist and her husband. A farmhouse in the Crags. A suspect in custody. A family in pieces.

“I just want to remember them laughing,” Charlotte said.

Justice for Jane and Rolf Luck cannot come soon enough.