Hammer Horror in Gqeberha: Tenants Handed 25 Years After Lovers' Plot with Landlord's Partner to Bludgeon Elder to Death
BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA
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GQEBERHA — In a chilling case of domestic betrayal, a romantic couple who rented a backyard flatlet have each been slapped with an effective 25-year direct prison sentence for the brutal hammer murder and staged robbery of their 65-year-old landlord.
The High Court of South Africa, Eastern Cape Division, sitting in Gqeberha, handed down the heavy sentences against Anke-Mari Cilliers (39) and Lee-Roy Scholtz (38) after the lovers capitulated to overwhelming forensic evidence, signing a formal Section 105A plea and sentencing agreement.
The trial has also exposed an alleged deeper, more sinister mastermind: the victim's cohabiting life partner, Estelle Le Grange (57), who is accused of orchestrating the hit on her lover.
The Plot: A Murder Disguised as a Housebreaking
According to the plea statements admitted into the court record, the murder of Daniel de Jager on the night of 29 October 2025 at his Newton Park home was not a random crime, but a carefully coordinated conspiracy.
Cilliers and Scholtz admitted that Le Grange had approached them on numerous occasions, explicitly begging the tenants to help her eliminate De Jager. On the night of the murder, the trio met in the backyard flatlet to finalize the assassination plot, agreeing to disguise the killing as a violent housebreaking and robbery.
Shortly before midnight, once Le Grange confirmed De Jager was fast asleep, she unlocked the main house to let the tenants inside.
Bludgeoned in His Sleep
Le Grange allegedly led the tenants directly into the victim's bedroom, handed Scholtz a heavy workshop hammer, and commanded him to attack.
Scholtz repeatedly bashed De Jager in the head with the hammer, while Le Grange allegedly stood by the bedside, actively encouraging him to keep striking until the 65-year-old stopped moving. A post-mortem report later confirmed that De Jager died from a combination of catastrophic blunt-force head trauma and a sharp-force injury to his neck.
Following the execution, the trio ransacked the house to simulate a messy home invasion. They stole De Jager's:
In the early hours of the following morning, the killer tenants were caught on CCTV using the dead man's bank cards to withdraw R4,500 from an ATM.
Caught by Digital Footprints
The state's case was completely unassailable. Prosecutors presented intensive cellular data and digital evidence showing extensive, real-time communication between Le Grange, Scholtz, and Cilliers before, during, and directly after the murder—obliterating any alibi they attempted to fabricate.
Facing a mountain of digital evidence, the tenants pleaded guilty to murder, aggravated robbery, defeating the ends of justice, and a statutory violation of the Older Persons Act.
| Conviction Count | Individual Sentence Imposed | Operational Court Directive |
| Count 1: Murder | 25 Years Direct Imprisonment | Primary custodial sentence term. |
| Count 2: Aggravated Robbery | 15 Years Imprisonment | Ordered to run concurrently with Count 1. |
| Count 3: Older Persons Act Violation | 5 Years Imprisonment | Ordered to run concurrently with Count 1. |
| Count 4: Defeating Ends of Justice | 5 Years Imprisonment | Ordered to run concurrently with Count 1. |
The court ordered all auxiliary sentences to merge into the murder count, leaving both Scholtz and Cilliers with an effective 25 years behind bars.
"The successful finalisation of this matter demonstrates the strength of a coordinated criminal justice system. We remain resolute in our efforts to hold perpetrators accountable and to protect the most vulnerable members of our communities," said Eastern Cape Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Samkelo Mtwana.
Alleged Mastermind Up Next
While the tenants begin their quarter-century stretch in maximum-security prison, the legal nightmare is far from over for the woman who allegedly commissioned the hit.
The court granted a formal separation of trials, and the alleged mastermind, Estelle Le Grange, is officially scheduled to stand trial alone on 10 June 2026. State prosecutors intend to use the signed confessions and testimonies of her former tenants to secure a life sentence against her.
