Dating to double tragedy: St Stithians teen relationship timeline

The “toxic” relationship between St Stithans College teens Cameron Waldeck-Cooks and Ethan Coetzee has come under the spotlight following their alleged murder suicide a few months ago.

The 17-year-old and 19-year-old – who were in a nine-month romance – were found dead at a lodge near the Sabie Game Reserve in August amid a hiking expedition.

Postmortem findings suggested that Cameron died from strangulation/suffocation, while it has been reported that Ethan took his own life.

According to cellphone records which have emerged since their deaths, Ethan, a 2025 matriculant, has been described as a “controlling”, “possessive” and a ” jealous” boyfriend. Cameron’s parents and legal representatives have expressed concern at the police’s exclusion of cellphone evidence suggesting their daughter was a victim of gender-based violence.

ST STITHIANS TRAGEDY: THE BEGINNING OF A ‘TOXIC’ TEEN ROMANCE

Up until the end of 2025, both Cameron Waldeck-Cooks and Ethan Coetzee attended the same school family, St Stithians College.

Around September 2025, Ethan, doing his matric year, and Cameron, then in Grade 10, began dating.

Cellphone records claim Ethan was “controlling” and “possessive” – he was allegedly “jealous” of Cameron’s friendships with other males, and became “enraged” when confronting her.

He allegedly had access to Cameron’s social media accounts and phone. 

A few weeks earlier, Cameron Waldeck-Cooks left St Stithians to spend a few weeks at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta on a US exchange school programme.

In a video clip, which went viral after her death, the bubbly blonde teen stated that she felt “safe and welcomed” as an exchange student.

Her relationship with Ethan reached a boiling point during the end-of-year school holidays. In January and February, Ethan reportedly sent Cameron up to 22 000 WhatsApp text messages – more than 700 a day!

The messages, sent from early morning to late at night, included thousands of declarations of love. They also included demands, questions, and accusations of a reported jealous and controlling nature.

Ethan reportedly demanded to monitor Cameron’s study sessions via Microsoft Teams and insisted she “behave like a wife”. He also allegedly withdrew his application to study at Stellenbosch University, as he did not want to be away from her.

At the time, Cameron was working towards the Gold level of The President’s Award for Youth Empowerment, which is part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.

BREAK-UP AND SHOCK DEATH

The phone records shared by Cameron Waldeck-Cooks family representatives in the wake of her death claimed that the St Stithians teens had ended their relationship in early July.

However, Ethan reportedly continued texting Cameron, begging her not to tell his family about their break-up. Cameron insisted she was “single” and encouraged Ethan to date other girls.

A few weeks later, in August, Cameron joined two families, one of them being Ethan’s, on a hiking expedition in the Sabie Game Reserve.

His family described the duo as being in good spirits on the eve of their deaths.

Ethan’s father, Graham, found their bodies the following morning – 9 August – at their accommodation at the Waterval self-catering lodge.

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE CONCERNS

In a statement after their deaths, the family of Ethan Coetzee, a St Stithians alumnus, disputed that he was involved in the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Cameron Waldeck-Cooks.

The family claimed that there was “no sign of an altercation” and that Ethan “sustained no injuries consistent with a struggle”.

They added that Ethan was “kind, gentle and loyal”, particularly towards Cameron. 

However, Cameron’s family have claimed cellphone records – reportedly ignored by police – painted a different picture of the deceased.

Their legal representatives stated their concerns about the GBV nature of Ethan’s texts, which they believe should be investigated by the police.

They are demanding a thorough investigation and a full inquest.