IOL EXCLUSIVE | Several women sought protection from Plett artist charged with ex-detective’s murder
At least six women have now come forward with claims to have taken out protection orders against a Garden Route artist arrested for the brutal murder of an ex-police officer.
Those protection orders paint a disturbing picture of repeated alleged abuse by Bevan van Druten, who appeared in the Plettenberg Bay magistrate’s court on Wednesday.
Cutting a lonely figure in the dock, Van Druten, 53, was formally charged with the murder of Nicky van Heerden.
The 54-year-old’s brutalised body was found lying in the sand in Rivertides at Keurbooms Beach on Sunday night.
A bakkie believed to belong to Van Druten was found right next to Van Heerden; her body, police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said, was riddled with injuries.
Van Heerden, whose given name was Anneke, had recently met Van Druten and had introduced him to some of her family members on Saturday.
Though celebrated for his driftwood sculptures, which he even sold internationally, a string of women have described Van Druten — who recently moved from Wilderness to Plettenberg Bay — as a “scary, scary man”.
Some have even gone so far as to say Van Heerden’s murder could have been prevented had protection orders been taken seriously.
They added a voice note the blonde-haired woman was believed to have recorded shortly before her death showed she was in distress and desperately needed help (see sidebar at the end of this article).
Samantha Cartwright, of Wilderness, said she spoke out to prevent other women from being terrorised.
Cartwright, 39, said her first encounter with Van Druten was three years ago at a festival.
“He put me in a corner and [allegedly] attacked me for no reason and was also attacking my friends, and I had to tell him to stop,” she said, agreeing to be named.
“He was very pushy and aggressive.
“I didn’t feel safe around him … he was hitting on me and I kept saying no, but he continued.
“He kept crossing my boundaries and he seemed quite bipolar.”
She said she later obtained a protection order against him.
“The protection can only do so much,” Cartwright said.
“I have been trying to prevent exactly what had happened to Nicky.
“I have been warning people, telling places to ban him, and asking the police to put him in jail.”
One of Van Druten’s ex-girlfriends, who spoke to IOL on condition she not be named, said she “so easily” could have ended up dead.
She said, when she first met him, he came across as very charming.
“He is clever at determining what you want or need, and he provides that,” she said.
“He will make himself exactly the type of person you want. He makes himself out to be very useful.
“He lures you in like that, and I didn’t realise it at the time, but in retrospect, and after having spoken to other people who have had to deal with him, I understand it now.”
She said, once a woman was “in his sights” and under his control, the abuse would begin.
“He once told me that anyone can kill anyone anytime,” the woman said.
“I felt this when he attacked me physically several times and threatened me.
“He strangled me and threatened to leave me in desolate areas a number of times.
“I would feel very afraid when he attacked me because of the sense that he could kill me.”
She said Van Druten repeatedly claimed he was innocent.
“He turns the story around.
“One minute he is fine, and the next you’re in deep sh–.
“He instigates things… he kicks your feet from under you and starts attacking you physically.”
She said she lived in constant fear of running into him.
“I just think about him and begin to shake because I never knew when he was going to appear.
“He has no boundaries and would enter properties where he had been told he was not allowed.”
Another woman was too traumatised to speak on record, and chose instead to share a letter she had written months earlier.
In it, she detailed her alleged abuse.
“He [Van Druten] was not unknown to me, in fact for six years I had seen him on the periphery of our greater community with a few random, peaceful interactions,” she wrote.
“After a breakup, he cleverly drew me in with bashful remarks of my ex-partner and praise for how I deserved something different, better and more exciting.
“Innocently, he made me sympathise with his problems, and being the helpful human that I am, I reached out a hand.
“I am not innocent in this as I chose to help, I chose the excitement, and I curiously chose to hang around.”
She said he appeared “uncannily attentive”.
“He made my coffee in precisely the way I enjoy it, and prepared meat exactly how I described it.
“The supposed same interests are impressive, scarily so.
“Long walks on the beach and swims in beautiful forest pools.
“Later it becomes a weapon, but you are too busy enjoying the attention to see it for what it is… obsession.”
The woman said they then quickly jumped into a relationship and everything “moved fast”.
She said there were warning signs she ignored.
“There were red flags, but I merrily pranced past them,” she said.
“Quite a few friends raised eyebrows when I said that we were getting to know each other, a few sternly warning against this and others simply quietly surprised.”
Other women’s stories were eerily similar.
IOL has seen copies of various protection orders applied for against Van Druten.
In one case during 2023, a woman approached the Knysna magistrate’s court under the Domestic Violence Act seeking legal protection from Van Druten.
The application alleged repeated acts of domestic violence, including intimidation, harassment and physical threats, and said she feared for her safety if the court did not intervene.
The court first granted an interim protection order — a temporary order issued when there is an immediate risk.
That order barred Van Druten from contacting or approaching the complainant, entering certain locations, or engaging in threatening or abusive behaviour.
A warrant of arrest, suspended on condition of compliance, was also authorised.
The matter later returned to court, where the magistrate considered the evidence and made the interim order final.
This means the court was satisfied violence had occurred or was likely to occur again if protection was not granted.
In another matter, the Knysna magistrate’s court issued a final protection order under the Protection from Harassment Act.
After the order was granted, the complainant reported that it had been breached. The court then issued a warrant of arrest allowing police to act if she “faced imminent harm”.
In a separate case, another woman applied for protection under the same act.
The court granted an interim protection order in October 2024, placing restrictions on contact and conduct.
A further final protection order was later issued in yet another case involving a different complainant.
Meanwhile, Van Heerden’s family has called for justice to prevail.
Speaking to IOL on Tuesday, her brother-in-law and family spokesperson, Hein Bruwer, said the tragedy had devastated all who knew and loved Van Heerden.
Bruwer said Van Heerden was a loving, lively person who meant a great deal to those close to her.
“She was adventurous and loved being outdoors,” he said.
“She had a big personality and was always up for something new.
“Nicky lived boldly and was not afraid of anything.”
Bruwer said Van Heerden had been excited about the year ahead.
“She wanted to create new memories, to do things like going on vacation, travel, do things … she loved enjoying her life, she was not the one who sat at home eating cake and drinking tea.
“She loved walking on the beach, making memories.
“We loved her very much, and quite frankly, we still do and always will.”
He said Van Heerden lived in Knysna, but at one stage worked in Angola as a logistics manager.
She had started her career as a detective in Plettenberg Bay.
Bruwer said Van Heerden had been with Van Druten on Saturday, and that some family members met him for the very first time that day.
Van Druten is widely known for his sculptures made from driftwood — pieces of wood that have been washed ashore by the sea or rivers after being shaped and weathered by water over time.
On his website, he wrote: “Ever since I was very young, I have been fascinated by nature and especially bird-life.
“Living in the Garden Route means that I’m close to both my passions.”
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Van Druten would remain in custody until his next court appearance on Monday next week, when he would consider whether to apply for bail.
He faces a charge of femicide.
Ntabazalila said the state would oppose bail and that Van Druten would be referred to the district surgeon for observation.
‘Attacked by demons’: Ex-detective’s chilling voice note before murder
A former Garden Route detective recorded a strange and rather disturbing voice note shortly before her grisly murder — a message she sent to several WhatsApp contacts warning that the man now accused of killing her was “attacked by demons”.
Nicky van Heerden, whose given name was Anneke, is believed to have recorded the 10-minute, 29-second voice note while sitting next to Bevan van Druten, the man now charged with her murder.
The 54-year-old’s badly injured body was found in Plettenberg Bay on Sunday night, police spokesman Sargeant Wesley Twigg said.
In the rambling message, Van Heerden appeared agitated and manic as she addressed people who, she said, were supporting a man she described as an enemy of Van Druten by following his WhatsApp group.
She urged them to stop following what she referred to as the “demon of lizards” and to follow Van Druten instead.
“All of you, I am not a f—-ng polar bear,” Van Heerden said in the recording.
“Listen, all of you are asking a thousand questions about the Lord … because you want to believe this man you’re following over that of a man of the Lord, Bevan van Druten.
“Bevan van Druten is no longer Bevan van Druten. He is now Jonah, like the man spat out by the whale … the Bible was written in code.
“You need to listen to me. I felt the fear of Jesus Christ. Please listen to me. I gave myself the name Alaska. It comes out of the f—- Bible,” she said.
A man can then be heard laughing, with Van Heerden quickly adding: “This mad man laughing next to me is Bevan van Druten.”
Van Druten then ostensibly said: “The boxer.”
Van Heerden continued: “The boxer, who has two weapons … listen to me, I really love you.
“You guys are following the wrong man [apparently the man who ran the WhatsApp group and who had a run-in with Van Druten].”
“Get off that group,” she said.
“It is not me talking, it is God … 35 of you are following the wrong man.
“We are working for God.”
In a bizarre twist, she also said she and Van Druten had exchanged vows “two days ago”. She then quickly changed the subject, saying: “This man is difficult to handle … stop behaving like a mad person.”
IOL