Official Documents & Court Records

DPP DECISION — DOCUMENTED PROCEEDINGS Case: CAS 84/04/2025 — State v JP van Niekerk, Banele Mseleku, Lloyd Ramsbottom, Njabulo Dlamini et al. Charge: Murder of Luke Ray Edwards DATE OF DECISION: 15 January 2026 AUTHORITY: Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), KwaZulu-Natal OFFICIAL DECISION: The Director of Public Prosecutions officially decided to ABANDON ALL MURDER CHARGES against all accused in the death of Luke Ray Edwards (murder occurred on 9 April 2025). REASON CITED: No evidence to proceed with murder charges against anyone. CHARGES RETAINED: - Attempted Murder (relating to incidents on 7-8 April 2025 at TRC) - Kidnapping CHARGES ABANDONED: - Murder (all accused) COURT PROCEEDINGS — 15 JANUARY 2026: The matter had been remanded to 15 January 2026 specifically for a DPP decision, as the court had marked the matter final and would not allow further postponements. The State initially requested another postponement because the DPP had not yet decided. The Magistrate stood the matter down for 3 hours, stating he would strike the matter off the roll if the DPP did not return with a decision. Three hours later, the court reconvened with the DPP decision. The matter was postponed to 19 January 2026 for Discovery and Trial Date (PTC). CONFIRMATION IN OPEN COURT — 24 APRIL 2026: The State Prosecutor officially informed the court that murder charges were abandoned in January per the DPP letter. Trial dates were set for 28 September – 13 October 2026 for Attempted Murder and Kidnapping only. SOURCE REFERENCES: - File #05: Z: Z8 — DPP Decision Letter (15 January 2026) - Master Litigation Timeline, pages 16-17 - Court Proceedings (24 April 2026) NOTE: The DPP Decision Letter is referenced in the Master Litigation Timeline as File #05: Z: Z8. The decision was not read aloud in court on 15 January 2026; the court was informed of the outcome and the matter proceeded on the reduced charges only.

If a person is killed, as per the Court documents, on 9 April 2025, and persons who were in the same establishment with the deceased and the so-called witnesses are only arrested on 26 June 2025, about two months down the line, it gives one to doubt if those witnesses are alive and without any further clarification as to why the witnesses are alive. Even if they have an 18 number, 18 is not a big number, that these witnesses, they could not give an account of what happened, if they actually saw what happened, so that the police can then do their job. So this alone shows that maybe even the police were not sure as to who is implicated in this matter and if so and how is the person implicated. Hence, such a long time before arrest could have effected. And on the evidence that is presented, it shows that clearly there is no direct evidence, it's a consensual evidence, which is subject to a lot of qualifying factors during trial. So this shows that the evidence at this time is weak. Bail was granted to all four accused of R2,000 each on 9 July 2025 at Umlazi Regional Court (C/425/2025). The complete 108-page court transcript is available as PDF and as a full-text .txt file for download above.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH — CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATION REPORT eThekwini Health District Office Nicholus "Khanyisani" Khumalo, Mental Health & Substance Abuse Coordinator Date: 9 July 2025 (Updated report; initial report dated 1 July 2025) SUBJECT: Investigation Report on Allegations Surrounding the Death in Tetelestai Recovery Centre 1. INTRODUCTION This report outlines findings from an official investigation conducted at the Tetelestai Recovery Centre concerning the recent death of Mr Luke Edwards – aged 32 years, an inpatient at the facility. Speculations reported in local media have suggested potential negligence or direct involvement by the facility personnel or by an individual closer/associated to TRC in the death of Mr Luke Edwards. This investigation was aimed at establishing facts, clarifying timelines & circumstances surrounding the incident. 2. BACKGROUND • Name of Deceased: Mr Luke Edwards • Age: 32 years • Date of Admission: 31 March 2025 • Date Reported Missing: 8 April 2025 (23:06) — within the facility on their WhatsApp group • Date Reported Missing to Family: 9 April 2025 approximately 7am by TRC representative • Date Confirmed Deceased: 9 April 2025 (approximately 5:20am) • Where found: Lying dead in pool of blood, wounded, assaulted, shirtless, head smashed • Date Identification Confirmed: 9 April 2025 – around 9am • Location of Death: Neighboring Facility – Retirement Home (Mooi Hawens), outside and nearby Tetelestai Premises Luke Edwards was admitted to Tetelestai Recovery Centre on 31 March 2025 for rehabilitation. In-facility protocols for admission and treatment procedures were reportedly followed by the facility personnel. 3. INCIDENT TIMELINE AND EVIDENCE 3.1 Missing Person Alert On 8 April 2025 at 23:06, a message in the facility's internal WhatsApp group indicated that Mr Luke Edwards was missing from his room. An internal search was conducted on the premises but yielded no results. 3.2 Police Involvement and Identification On 9 April 2025 at approximately 07:00, the facility informed the family about the disappearance. At about 09am, a police van arrived with a photograph of a deceased individual found at a nearby retirement facility. Facility staff identified the individual as Mr Luke Edwards. Retirement home personnel stated they have CCTV cameras in the facility. 4. VIDEO AND WITNESS EVIDENCE 4.1 Security Footage A video presented during the facility visit shows Mr Edwards alive at approximately 01:30 on 9 April 2025. He is visibly clothed, coherent, and not exhibiting any signs of distress or injury. He is seen speaking with a security guard and drinking water, which supports the assertion that he was alive and in a seemingly stable condition at that time — approximately 2h30 after being reported missing from TRC. 4.2 Witness Testimony — Security Personnel The security guard stated Luke approached their Main Gate at around 01:30, requesting water, which was provided. The security guard did not observe any visible wounds, blood, agitation, or erratic behavior. The security guard can serve as a key witness to confirm Mr Luke Edwards' condition at that time. 5. DISCOVERY OF THE BODY Mr Luke Edwards' body was reportedly discovered around 05:00am on 9 April 2025. His body was found lying in a pool of blood, shirtless, and showing signs of physical assault. Notable injuries included head trauma and stab wounds with extensive bleeding. The condition in which he was found was in stark contrast to his earlier appearance at 01:30am. 6. PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS • Mr Luke Edwards appeared alive, outside of TRC premises & no visibly injured as of 01:30 on 9 April 2025, based on both CCTV footage and eyewitness account (Security Guard on duty). • He was discovered dead with visible injuries approximately four hours after the security guard saw him. • The location where his body was found was NOT within the Tetelestai Recovery Centre premises, but rather at the facilities of a nearby retirement home (Mooi Hawens) adjacent to Tetelestai Recovery Centre. • There is NO current evidence directly implicating Tetelestai staff in Mr Luke Edwards' death. • The video evidence, timeline, and security guard's testimony may assist law enforcement in identifying suspects. 7. RECOMMENDATIONS • SAPS should prioritize obtaining external CCTV footage from the retirement home showing the surrounding area to determine Mr Luke Edwards' movements between 1am and 5am. • Security guard who interacted with the deceased should be formally interviewed and considered a witness. • Finding his body inside the neighboring vicinity can indirectly mean he never went far from that area. 10. IN CONCLUSION Based on findings during the facility investigation: There is no current evidence directly implicating Tetelestai staff in Mr Luke Edwards' death. Luke was last seen alive at Mooi Hawens on 9 April 2025. His body was found on Mooi Hawens property. Warm regards, Nicholus Khumalo Mental Health and Substance Abuse Coordinator eThekwini Health District Office

POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION REPORT | PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL Date: 03/03/2026 Client name: Blokker family Address: 19 San Marina, Seaward Estate, Ballito Invoice: Paid in full Email: Chris Jenson Subject: Specific Issue — Murder on 9 April 2025 Test Type: Specific issue test (MGQT) We were commissioned to conduct a specific issue test for the Blokker family. The MGQT was applied, and a minimum of three examinations were administered on the examinee, in accordance with our standards of practice. During the examination, attention was given to the verbal, as well as non-verbal behavior of the examinees. Interviews were conducted with the subjects to establish whether they were fit and suitable for polygraph testing. An inquiry into the subject’s medical and current well-being was made. The subjects were deemed to be suitable for polygraph testing. The candidate’s conditions, medications and current general health are detailed in the report with careful consideration to their privacy and dignity. Before the process was started the candidate read and signed my consent form. The science of polygraph and the function of the different components was explained until understood. The candidate was made aware that the instruments would be attached to their bodies with minimal discomfort and strict adherence to Covid19 compliant practices. EXAMINER Sean Wernich was a member of the SAPS from 1990 to 2004. He had a distinguished career, 8 of those years as a senior detective. From 2004 he became involved with private security and investigations using polygraph. He successfully completed the academic and practical requirements of the Professional Examiner Training Program for Psychophysiological Detection of Deception hosted by Quality Polygraphs in Pretoria. Since 2017 he has been qualified as a professional polygraph examiner, which is accredited by the American Polygraph Association; he is also a member of the South African Professional Polygraph Association and American Polygraph Association. He has completed his necessary advanced training, and his equipment has been tested in the last 6 months. The Lafayette LX 4000B digital polygraph system (serial number 172960FE) in conjunction with a MGQT Technique was utilized by the examiner. The Empirical scoring technique was used to affect the examination. 3 tests were conducted on each of the subjects for the purpose of collecting data for scoring. Question formulation was reviewed with the subjects at length. The subjects clearly understood the questions that we intended to put to them. NAME OF THE EXAMINEE: Johan Blokker ID NUMBER: 900215 5109 082 DATE OF EXAMINATION: 2 March 2026 CELL PHONE: 064 1605 377 The Blokker family requested me to do a specific issue test on one of their family members who has been arrested for the murder of Luke Edwards. This accused, Johan Blokker, runs a rehabilitation centre for addicts in the Westbrook area of KZN. One of the patients admitted to this Tetelestai Recovery Centre named Luke Edwards, was found murdered on 9 April 2025. There are allegations that Mr. Edwards tried to escape the facility and assaulted several staff members during the attempt. His body was found in the property next door to the facility. Some of these staff members were previously arrested and charged for his murder. Mr. Blokker was arrested last week, allegedly with little or no evidence. The matter appears before court again this Thursday the 5th of March. The Blokker family are desperate to get some clarity on whether their son has anything to hide regarding this murder. Their son maintains his innocence, and they are not aware of any evidence to implicate him. I was asked to provide this clarity. EXAMINEE DECLARES THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: Time working for Tetelestai: 6 months Position: Manager Polygraphed before: One time Chronic medication: No Highest standard of education: Grade 12 Married: Yes Children: One Driver’s license: Code 08 Suitability for polygraph: Yes Arrested before: 10 years ago, for theft Criminal record: No Ever dismissed from employment: Never Illegal drugs use: Addict. Int INTERVIEW The examinee has been staying at the facility for 6 months where he works as a manager, although he admits that he becomes a patient when he relapses. He knows Luke Edwards who had been staying at the facility for a week. During that week he had been called to assist several times as Luke had been assaulting the staff. He says he never assaulted Luke, only doing what was necessary to subdue him. On the night of April 9th, he says he was not even present when the drama occurred. He was at home with his family from about 18:00. At no stage did he leave until the next morning. The following day he learnt that Luke was dead on the neighbouring property. He did confirm looking at the body and noticing that Luke had been severely assaulted. He does not know who murdered Luke but suspects it may be the security guards where Luke’s body was found. He denies that he knows for sure who murdered Luke. He denies that he was present when Luke was murdered. He denies that he murdered Luke. He denies that he had a plan to murder Luke. THE FOLLOWING 4 RELEVANT QUESTIONS WERE ASKED OF THE EXAMINEE DURING THE TEST Scoring key: NSR = No Significant Reaction (No Deception Indicated) | SR = Significant Reaction | INC = Inconclusive Question 1: DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE WHO MURDERED LUKE EDWARDS? Answer: NO Response: NSR — No Significant Reaction / No Deception Indicated Question 2: WERE YOU PRESENT WHEN LUKE EDWARDS WAS MURDERED? Answer: NO Response: NSR — No Significant Reaction / No Deception Indicated Question 3: DID YOU MURDER LUKE EDWARDS? Answer: NO Response: NSR — No Significant Reaction / No Deception Indicated Question 4: DID YOU HAVE A PLAN TO MURDER LUKE EDWARDS? Answer: NO Response: NSR — No Significant Reaction / No Deception Indicated DATA INTERPRETATION / OPINION CONCERNING TRUTHFULNESS: Global analysis of the physiological data revealed that there is sufficient interpretable quality to complete a standardized numerical analysis of the test results. Analysis was performed using the Empirical Scoring System (ESSM). It is the expert opinion of the forensic psycho physiologist that Johan Blokker was TRUTHFUL when he answered the Relevant questions asked, because, in accordance with the multinomial theorem, only a very small percentage of untruthful persons would produce the same score. RESULT: Johan Blokker PASSED the polygraph examination. No Deception Indicated (NDI) on all four relevant questions. Sean Wernich Forensic Psychophysiology sean@wernichpolygraph.co.za (Submitted Electronically) CONTACT NUMBER | 083 7817 784 | EMAIL ADDRESS | SEAN@WERNICHPOLYGRAPH.CO.ZA POSTAL ADDRESS | Postnet Suite 156, Private Bag X02, Glen Ashley, 4022 WEBSITE | WWW.WERNICHPOLYGRAPH.CO.ZA