The brother of 17-year-old Cameron Waldeck-Cooks has broken his silence, alleging that the teenager was murdered and did not die peacefully.
By Mapaballo Borotho

The brother of a 17-year-old pupil from St Stithians Girls College in Johannesburg has finally broken his silence following the tragic death of the teenager in Mpumalanga.
Cameron Waldeck-Cooks was found dead alongside 19-year-old Ethan Coetzee at a lodge in Sabie, Mpumalanga, last week.
Initially, police reported that they did not suspect any foul play in the teenagers’ deaths. However, a private post-mortem report conducted at the request of Waldeck-Cooks’ parents indicated that the 17-year-old might have died due to strangulation.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Mavela Masondo confirmed that the results of the post-mortems indicated that Cameron had allegedly been strangled, while Coetzee allegedly took his own life.
‘Cameron’s lifeless body was found with injuries‘
Cameron’s brother, Ethan Waldeck-Cooks, shared an emotional post on his Instagram page, breaking his silence days after the shocking discovery of his teenage sister.
“My sister Cameron Waldeck-Cooks was found dead on Sunday, 02 August 2026. Her corpse lay lifeless with injuries on several parts of her body,” he wrote.
“She was murdered by Ethan Coetzee,” he said, alleging that Coetzee strangled his sister to death and that she did not die peacefully.
He said the trauma that this tragedy has caused his family will never be forgotten.
“It is important that I share this,” he concluded his post.
Mpumalanga police have opened a murder case, and investigations into the matter continue.
Fresh and Thato were joined by Content Manager at IOL, Se-Anne Koopman, to unpack this story.
Listen to the podcast for the full conversation.
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