In December, 31-year-old Jolandi le Roux fell to her death off Chapman’s Peak, whilst celebrating her birthday with her husband, Andrew.

The couple had parked at a lookout point, climbed over the warning signs present, and attempted to get a picture with the setting sun in the background.

As Jolandi, who was working for Superbalist, jumped for a second photo, having been unhappy with the first, she lost her footing and fell down the cliff.

Despite Andrew’s best efforts, with the experienced trail runner and triathlete scrambling 100 metres down the treacherous mountainside in an effort to save her, it took a rescue team more than six hours to eventually recover her body, which was trapped in the base of a sheer V-shaped gully.

Whilst it was initially reported that Jolandi’s family was present at the time, it’s now reported that they only arrived after a distraught Andrew phoned his mother-in-law with the tragic news.

Now, a full five months later, Hout Bay detectives are calling on witnesses who were present on the day to come forward and give their accounts.

Here’s IOL:

“We know from the deceased’s husband there were people on the scene when his wife fell,” said Detective Commander Captain Deon Bock. “But nobody took their names. We are asking those eyewitnesses to come forward to assist us in our investigation.”

According to News24, “Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut, Western Cape police spokesperson, confirmed to YOU that the circumstances surrounding Jolandi’s death were still under investigation and that the case hasn’t been closed”.

It would appear that some of the uncertainty stems from reports that the married couple had been unhappy in the months leading up to the tragedy:

A concerned family source revealed that although Le Roux “married the man of her dreams” during a romantic Plettenberg Bay beach wedding on September 24, 2017, her marriage allegedly had faltered as early as May 2018.

“Even though they were working on their issues, Jolandi’s life was hell for the last six months of her life,” said the source who asked not to be named.

The stress landed her in hospital for 10 days in August. “She was deeply unhappy and lost a lot of weight. She weighed just 47kg when she died.”

Until recently, detectives were unaware that the couple allegedly had marital problems. Nor had they been told the couple spent up to an hour sitting in their car talking before getting out to take photos at Lookout Point…

The detectives were also unaware that there were family members who still have unanswered questions about circumstances around her death…

“There is so much that makes no sense,” said a family source. “There are all these loose ends. All we want is the truth.”

The same source claims that in the photos taken by Andrew, moments before the fall, Jolandi “looks sad”.

Shortly before her death, Jolandi had her grandmother’s name tattooed on her wrist, and later explained that it was so that her grandmother would recognise her in heaven:

She also had the co-ordinates of Arch Rock near Keurbooms River tattooed on her torso because that was where she got engaged and where she wanted her ashes spread.

When contacted about the new information that had come to light, Andrew refused to go into too much detail:

Andrew refused to talk about the accident. “I’m not saying anything out of respect to my wife. I don’t think she would want to be spoken about in the way that it has been explained what happened. It’s very hard reading information that’s not true.

“Revisiting this makes the long, hard journey to recovery only much harder, and offers no benefit to anyone.”

Anybody with further information can reach Detective Commander Captain Deon Bock on 082 469 2576.

[sources:iol&news24]