Murdered Knysna lawyer an all-round good guy
KNYSNA - In a tragic incident, Knysna attorney Coenraad "Coenie" de Beer (54) and his friend and owner of an Overberg guest farm, James Kriel (56), were shot dead on Monday 30 October on a smallholding in Vioolsdrift. The suspect, Jacob "Japie"
Dawid Malan Claassens, was arrested in connection with the shooting the following day.
Coenie de Beer was admitted as an attorney in 1999 and had been a resident of Knysna for nearly 20 years. De Beer was a partner at Vowles Callaghan & Boshoff Inc Knysna from 2003 to 2012, before moving on to partnering and owning De Beer Attorneys in 2015.
The news of De Beer's death has been a great shock to family and friends of the wellknown lawyer, as well as the tight-knit legal community in Knysna.
"I've known him since he arrived in Knysna," says Knysna attorney Zwaai Kruger.
"We have come a long way since. He was a friend and a colleague and an all-round good guy. We always had fun together and shared a joke. He will be sorely missed. There will definitely be a gap in the community where he is missing."
Carla Bakker, an attorney at Kevin Cross and Affiliates, says, "We will all miss seeing him at court. We are all saddened by this news. I have known Coenie for many years of working with him, he was a good guy who took his profession seriously, as well as his family."
De Beer was an active member of the Knysna community and was involved in local schools and other organisations. He was a sponsor of the Knysna High School girls hockey team in 2015.
De Beer's family are still in mourning from the tragedy. KPH has made contact with De Beer's sister, Iselle Klusmann, but she expressed the family's wishes to not speak to the media at this time.
The shooting
The shooting occurred on a smallholding in Vioolsdrift where, according to Northern Cape police spokesperson Colonel Cherelle Ehlers, four men were visiting a friend.
Neighbours heard gunshots at about 04:30 on Monday morning and went to investigate. Ehlers said that the owner of the property confessed to shooting two men and expressed his intention to hand himself in. Law enforcement then found De Beer and Kriel shot, and subsequently arrested Japie Claassens (59).
According to Ehlers, the two victims succumbed to their injuries in an Upington hospital on Wednesday 1 November.
Claassens remains in custody following another court appearance on Tuesday 7 November. The case was remanded to 15 October for the formal bail application.