A Trail of Fear: Multiple Women Sought Protection from Artist Now Charged with Murder

Long before Bevan van Druten stood in the Plettenberg Bay dock charged with murder, a paper trail of fear was being laid by the women in his wake. At least six women have now come forward, revealing they soughtand were grantedprotection orders against the 53-year-old driftwood artist, painting a chilling portrait of a man they describe as a “scary, scary man” whose alleged pattern of abuse they believe culminated in tragedy.

Van Druten appeared in court on Wednesday, formally charged with the murder of 54-year-old ex-detective Nicky van Heerden, whose body was found brutally injured on Keurbooms Beach on Sunday, just a day after she had introduced him to her family.

“He Could Kill Me”: The Ex-Girlfriend’s Account

One of Van Druten’s ex-girlfriends, speaking anonymously to IOL, said she “so easily” could have been the victim. She described a calculated charm offensive that quickly turned terrifying. “He lures you in… He makes himself exactly the type of person you want,” she said. Once ensnared, the abuse began. “He strangled me and threatened to leave me in desolate areas… I would feel very afraid because of the sense that he could kill me.”

Her account is echoed by Samantha Cartwright of Wilderness, who secured a protection order after an alleged aggressive encounter three years ago. “I have been trying to prevent exactly what had happened to Nicky,” she stated. “I have been warning people… asking the police to put him in jail.”

A Chilling Pattern, Captured by Courts

IOL has seen copies of multiple protection orders granted by the Knysna Magistrate’s Court under both the Domestic Violence Act and the Protection from Harassment Act. These are not mere allegations; they are legal findings. In one 2023 case, after an interim order was issued, the court reviewed the evidence and made a final protection ordera judicial confirmation that violence had occurred or was likely to recur.

In another case, after a final order was breached, the court issued a warrant of arrest, authorising police to act if the complainant faced “imminent harm.” These documents reveal a system repeatedly alerted to Van Druten’s alleged behaviour.

“He Turns the Story Around”: The Anatomy of Control

The women’s stories share haunting similarities: an initial phase of intense, tailored charm (“He made my coffee precisely the way I enjoy it”), a rapid move into a relationship, and then a descent into intimidation, physical attacks, and psychological manipulation. “He turns the story around,” the ex-girlfriend said. “One minute he is fine, and the next you’re in deep sh–.”

Their collective testimony raises a harrowing question, voiced by several: could Nicky van Heerden’s murder have been prevented if these prior legal warnings had been acted upon more forcefully? For them, the tragedy on the sand is not an isolated horror, but the potential endpoint of a long-ignored trail of fear they had been desperately trying to mark. As the murder case proceeds, their voices stand as a stark testament to the systemic failures that too often leave women unprotected from known dangers.

{Source: IOL}

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