Knysna Lawyer killed in ‘shooting tragedy’

Police are investigating a shooting incident at Vioolsdrift in the Northern Cape in which Knysna lawyer Coenraad De Beer (54) and Overberg farmer James Kriel (56) were killed in the early morning hours of Monday, 30 October 2023.

When police arrived on the farm, Jacob (Japie) Dawid Malan Claassens (59) from Vioolsdrift, handed himself over and allegedly admitted to shooting the two men who were visiting the farm. Claassens told Police that he thought they were burglars.

The two victims, aged 54 and 56, succumbed to their injuries in hospital on Wednesday 1 November 2023.

Community Newspaper Noordkaap Bulletin reports Claassens appeared in the Springbok Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 31 October 2023.

He remains in custody until his bail application next Tuesday (7 November).

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.