A disturbing new claim in the St Stithians murder-suicide alleges that Ethan Coetzee displayed controlling and abusive behaviour towards his girlfriend, Cameron Waldeck-Cooks, sending well over 750 texts a day.
The teens’ bodies were discovered at a Mpumalanga lodge in August following a hiking trip.
Cameron, 17, allegedly died from strangulation/suffocation, while it has been reported that Ethan, 19, took his own life.
‘ABUSIVE’ RELATIONSHIP COMES UNDER THE SPOTLIGHTOver the weekend, new details in the St Stithians murder-suicide investigation came to light.
The report shared information about the couples’s alleged toxic relationship, with claims that Ethan Coetzee, a 2025 matriculant, bombarded his Grade 11 girlfriend over 22 000 WhatsApp texts in a four week period – over 785 texts a day.
The messages, sent from early morning to late at night, included thousands of declarations of love.
They also included demands, questions, and accusations of a reported jealous and controlling nature.
Ethan reportedly demanded to monitor Cameron’s study sessions and insisted she “behave like a wife”.
The phone records shared by Cameron’s family representatives claimed that she had ended their relationship in early July.
A few weeks later, the couple was found dead during a hiking trip at a holiday lodge in the town of Sabie.
Subsequent autopsies indicated Cameron died by strangulation/suffocation, while Ethan died by suicide.
Police initially opened an inquest, but later confirmed that they were investigating a murder-suicide.
In recent weeks, the Waldeck-Cooks’ have expressed their concerns about police ignoring phone records, claiming that the deceased’s cellphones had been returned without a full forensic data download on the same day their bodies had been discovered.
COERCIVE CONTROL, SAYS GBV ACTIVIST
Meanwhile, GBV activist Bella Monsoon has suggested that the relationship between the teens exhibited signs of “coercive control”
In previous reports, it emerged that Ethan Coetzee, a 2025 matriculant who played in the first-team rugby for the Gauteng school, was a “jealous” and “controlling” boyfriend who had access to Cameron Waldeck Cooks’ social media accounts and phone.
Ethan had reportedly become “enraged” at his girlfriend, who had befriended male learners at school. He also allegedly withdrew from studying at Stellenbosch University, as he did not want to be away from her.
Monsoon said of his behaviour: “Coercive control does not just exist physically; it can be digital too. Monitoring messages, demanding passwords, policing who someone speaks to, tracking their activity, becoming angry over ordinary interactions.
She continued: “None of these behaviours automatically means somebody will become violent, but together they can form a wide pattern of coercive control. And when a young woman loses her life and circumstances are already being investigated as murder, digital evidence, relating to control, intimidation or relationship dynamic can be incredibly important”.
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