Lavender Hill mother-to-be found buried in shallow grave, suspect arrested

“She didn’t deserve this, nobody does and especially not her.”

These were the words of a family member of four-months pregnant Shanice “Niecey” Rudolph who was found buried in a shallow grave at Klip Road Cemetery in Grassy Park.

Rudolph, 23, from Lavender Hill went missing on December 4 and was last seen alive in Ouboet Street, Cafda, Retreat.

Her older sister, Rushaan Muller, 35, said the family are struggling to cope with the loss.

“She was a very bubbly person, always had a smile on her face, liked to laugh, always inside, she liked to eat, make jokes, en sy was baie sagte mens (and she was a very soft spoken person).

“For me, I still can't believe it. When I look at her pictures, I feel she is still around. My emotions are really mixed up, it's confusing feeling. It feels like everything you look at reminds me of her. Our family is broken,” Muller said.

She said she began to fear the worst on the night her sister vanished.

“When it became past nine, I started worrying. Then past 11, I got the feeling something must’ve happened. That Friday morning when I started hanging up my washing, I started crying. I couldn’t feel her presence.”

She said Rudolph was pregnant with her first child and had been in a relationship for about six months.

The family had been planning a Christmas lunch together.

“We were looking forward to it. I wish I could tell her I love her. She was the soft, quiet sister. 

“We are four sisters, and for this to happen to her, the least deserving of something like this, it's really not fair.” 

Veranique “Benji” Williams, founder of Faith and Hope Missing Persons Unit, said the organisation was deeply saddened by the discovery of Rudolph’s body.

“This happened during 16 Days of Activism, where a man is supposed to be afraid to commit such crimes. Who kills someone when they are pregnant?” she said.

Williams called for continued action beyond awareness campaigns.

“We call for justice for all women, not only during the 16 Days of Activism but every day thereafter. When you are being abused, or hear that someone is being abused, speak out. Don’t wait. Don’t hang ten. The longer you wait, the deeper the situation becomes.”

According to a source close to the investigation, Rudolph’s body was found in a decomposed state.

The source said it is suspected that Rudolph was struck on her head, placed in the boot of a vehicle and later buried at the cemetery on top of another grave.

Family members opened a missing persons case on Friday after she failed to return home. 

On Monday, the family reportedly received a tip-off that Rudolph had been murdered and placed in a car.

Leads were then followed to the cemetery, where a suspect was seen walking through a gap in the palisade fence at the graveyard where Rudolph's body was found.

Grassy Park police confirmed that a murder case has been registered.

Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said Rudolph was reported missing on December 5 at Steenberg SAPS. 

“A murder case was registered following the discovery of the body of a 23-year-old woman in a shallow grave at Klip Road cemetery. The circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation. The case will be transferred to Steenberg SAPS for further investigation,” Van Wyk said.

A 42-year-old suspect has been arrested and is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court once formally charged.