Perkies and perlemoen: Inside the grim murder plot and last hours of Vicki Terblanche

Five-and-a-half weeks of gripping testimonies, surprise witnesses and a chilling confession by the accused culminated in the sentencing of Reinhardt Leach on Friday morning for his role in the murder of his girlfriend, Vicki Terblanche.

The disgraced former primary school teacher and self-confessed perlemoen (abalone) diver – who pleaded guilty to killing Terblanche in October 2021 – was handed an effective 25-year prison sentence by the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha.

The myriad of intricate twists and turns that surfaced in the explosive trial, is the stuff of true-crime doccies…

Vicki Terblanche: A murder most foul

• Leach reported Vicki missing on 21 October 2021 – the day on which the blue-eyed blonde would have celebrated her 42nd birthday.
• Leach and Arnold Terblanche, Vicki’s estranged husband and the father of her teenage son, were both arrested in 2021 following her disappearance.
• The body of the Bay mother, who was drugged and suffocated, was eventually found in a shallow grave in Greenbushes on the outskirts of Gqeberha.
• Terblanche has been fingered as the alleged mastermind behind Vicki’s killing and is set to go on trial later this year in October.

ALSO READ: Vicki Terblanche murder: Reinhardt Leach sentenced

‘Messy divorce and money motive’

According to Leach, Terblanche initially wanted hitmen to take out Vicki, but after discussing it, they decided to kill her themselves instead.

With Vicki dead, Terblanche, who was in the midst of a messy divorce and custody battle with the deceased, allegedly would have saved R5 million in spousal support if the divorce went through.

The court heard that the prominent businessman would have allegedly given Leach – who lost his job as a school teacher because of his drugs and alcohol problems – enough money to buy a farm, News24 reported.

ALSO READ: Deadly plot unearthed: The wealthy EC farmer, his wife and ‘her plan to rake in R50m’

Accused-turned-witness Dylan Cullis

While Terblanche was released on bail of R1 million in February 2023, the third accused in the case, Dylan Cullis, however, entered into a plea deal and confessed to his part in the murder.

Cullis, who is already serving an 18-year prison term, also pointed out Vicki’s grave.

In his testimony, Cullis told the court about how he met the state’s 204 witness, Mario de Ridder Jnr, about a month before the murder and Leach a week prior.

Fast cars and firearms

According to an affidavit by investigating officer Colonel Kanna Swanepoel, the day before her murder it was found in a WhatsApp message that Leach told Arnold to get him a car as he needed to fetch something in Cape Town to “do the job for him”.

He also allegedly said that the car needed to be fast in case someone chases him and he needed “ysters” (firearms).

During Cullis’s testimony, the court heard that Leach eventually obtained a .22 calibre pistol which he cocked before firing two shots out of the car window while he, Cullis and De Ridder were driving down Seaview Road.

He said Leach told them in the car that he got the gun to kill Vicki as she was getting a divorce from Arnold and with her dead, the businessman allegedly stood to save millions.

Cullis said he just assumed it was Vicki’s husband who wanted her dead, but he did not take it seriously as they were all under the influence.

Perkies plot hatched to kill Vicki Terblanche

They went back to Vicki’s Mill Park home, where they played Xbox, using more drugs when Leach asked to go for another drive.

According to Cullis, Leach confessed that he could not shoot Vicki and that De Ridder then suggested they should give her enough drugs to make her choke in her vomit, so it would look like an overdose.

He testified that Leach gave him money to go and buy “perkies” (the schedule 6 opioid painkiller Percocet), which he got from someone who had illegal prescriptions. He said he bought 40 tablets at R2 each.

Back at Vicki’s house, they each took two tablets and continued playing Xbox while smoking Mandrax and tik.

Cullis said that they had about 25 tablets left at that time, which Leach then crushed with his phone, pouring them into a glass of Berocca.

Cullis told the court that Leach returned half an hour later, stating that he gave Vicki the concoction, had sex with her and that everything was going according to plan.

Vicki Terblanche’s last hours

• He later heard Vicki gagging while Leach was fast asleep.
• Cullis tried waking Vicki by pulling on her legs and once she opened her eyes, he picked her up and dragged her to the spare bedroom, where he placed her in the recovery position with the duvet behind her back so she would not roll back on the bed.
• He said when he took her to the bedroom, her eyes kept rolling back in her head, she could hardly walk and was unstable.
• According to Cullis’ testimony, he tried to figure out what to do when he fell asleep next to Vicki.
• He only woke up when a confused and agitated Leach entered the room. Cullis said both he and Vicki were fully dressed, but Leach confronted him by asking if he had had sex with his girlfriend.
• Cullis said an angry Leach told him to finish the job, but he could not.
• According to him, Leach then tucked Vicki into the blanket before getting on top of her, holding her arms and thighs in place with his legs and arms. He then grabbed a pillow and smothered Vicki.
• Cullis said Vicki screamed, but eventually stopped moving.

Go-karting with Vicki’s body in boot

Soon after, Leach and De Ridder grabbed Vicki’s belongings and filled the boot with her clothes, bags and other goods they intended to sell.

For two days, Vicki’s body remained in the spare bedroom as they explored various options to get rid of it, including setting it alight or dumping it at a municipal waste site.

On 20 October, they allegedly wrapped her body in her son’s bedding from the spare room and bundled her into the boot of a BMW vehicle.

As Leach insisted on an alibi, they went to ride go-carts at the Moffett-on-Main Lifestyle Centre, leaving Vicki’s body in the vehicle.

‘Peanut’ and a shallow grave

After Leach recruited a man named “Peanut” from Greenbushes to dig a “big hole” and paid him R1 200 in cash, Vicki’s body was dumped in the shallow grave on the night of 20 October.

Cullis claims that, while travelling to Greenbushes, Leach contacted Terblanche and said that “Vicki was no longer a problem”.

Prison drug money?

Leach told the court that for several months, even while Terblanche himself was incarcerated, Vicki’s husband provided him with amounts that ranged between R1 000 and R4 000 a week to spend on drugs in prison.

De Ridder Jnr is still a Section 204 witness and is expected to testify against Terblanche, while Leach also indicated his willingness to testify against the alleged mastermind.

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