THREE YEARS AND COUNTING… 
A Mother’s Grief as Justice Is Delayed Again

Platinum Weekly | Rustenburg – More than three years after the murder of 31-year-old Caroline Werner, her family is once again forced to endure another painful delay in the pursuit of justice. The case against the accused, Solly Maledu, was postponed… again… to 17 February 2026. 

According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Sivenathi Gunya, the accused remains in custody.

For Caroline’s mother, Ella Blackbeard, the postponement is another crushing blow in a journey marked by grief, exhaustion, and unanswered questions. “My heart is just broken,” Ella said. “To sit in court and see him standing there with such arrogance is a bitter pill to swallow,” she said. “After more than three years of going back and forth to court, we still have no answers — no why, no reason. And once again, it is postponed.”

The latest delay follows the appointment of a new legal representative for the accused, continuing a pattern of postponements that has plagued the case since Caroline’s murder in September 2022.

Caroline is remembered by those who loved her as a warm, vibrant woman with a contagious spirit. While time has moved on for the world around them, her family remains caught in a relentless cycle of court dates, delays, and grief.

Photo: Caroline Werner, whose family continues to seek justice more than three years after her murder.