Court awaits supplementary post-mortem in Chanelle Plaatjies murder case

The court is awaiting the submission of the supplementary post-mortem report before the murder case of 16-year-old Chanelle Plaatjies can officially be transferred to the Cape Town High Court.

Speaking to CapeTalk’s Clarence Ford, community reporter Chantelle Hartbeest said that the three accused appeared in court last week.

The teenager was last seen by her mother on 14 May 2025 in Paarl and reported missing on 28 May.

A body, later confirmed to be hers, was discovered during a community-led search in a shallow grave on 2 June.

“At the time of Chanelle’s death, her boyfriend told her family to go and look for her there. Since then, he and two other men have been arrested,” she said.

Hartbeest explained that the report will be crucial in establishing the facts of the case.

“The supplementary postmortem is just an additional postmortem to establish the final cause of death.”

To listen to Hartbeest in conversation with CapeTalk’s Clarence Ford, click the audio player below: