Cape Town police confirmed in a statement released on Tuesday that the deaths of the Stellenbosch couple Leila Lees, 18, and Ethan Kirkland, 19, are now being handled as culpable homicide cases.
Leila Lees, Ethan Kirkland deaths probed as culpable homicide
Shockwaves reverberated across the Cape Winelands on Monday morning when a community member alerted police to a strange object poking out of the quarry near Paul Kruger Road.
When teams of responding officers arrived at the scene, the object was hauled out of the dam and, turns out, it was the maroon Subaru Forester Lees and Kirkland drove the last time they were seen alive, on Friday, 21 October 2022.
The Stellenbosch couple’s bodies were discovered inside the vehicle, and at the time, police had logged an inquest into the deaths.
However, a day later, the investigation into the mysterious deaths of Leila Lees and Ethan Kirkland took a sharp turn when, in a statement, police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the matter has been escalated to a full-blown culpable homicide probe.
“Stellenbosch police registered a case of culpable homicide for further investigation,” WO Swartbooi said in a brief statement.
At this juncture, further details into the criminal docket remain unknown.
What we know so far is:
- Leila Lees and Ethan Kirkland were reported missing on the morning of Saturday, 22 October 2022;
- The couple was last seen alive at The Niche apartments on Friday.
- CCTV footage captured the couple’s vehicle driving around Bosman Street at 23:45 on Friday, 21 October 2022
- Parents of Lees filed a missing person case on Saturday morning when their daughter did not show up to work.
In South Africa, culpable homicide is categorised as “the unlawful negligent killing of a fellow human being.”
While Cape Town police are mum about the evidence gathered thus far, it appears there is a belief that someone is responsible for the deaths of Leila Lees and Ethan Kirkland.
As things stand, no suspects or persons of interest have been named in the investigation.
This is a developing story.