The State has secured its first conviction in the murder of Vicki Terblanche.
Twenty-two-year-old Dylan Cullis entered a plea agreement with the State and was sentenced to an effective 18 years in the High Court in Gqeberha on Wednesday.
He was one of the first to be arrested following the murder of Vicki Terblanche in her Mill Park home in October 2021.
Cullis’ plea deal, in which he points the finger at Vicki’s boyfriend Reinhardt Leach, was read out in court by State Prosecutor, Advocate Marius Stander.
He admitted that he was present during the murder, had stolen several items belonging to Vicki, and assisted in scouting for a place to dump her body.
According to Cullis, he met state witness Mario De Ridder Jr just three weeks before the murder and was introduced to Leach and Vicki a mere three days before she was killed.
He said they all went to a house party in Sherwood where Vicki and Leach “acted like a normal and happy couple.”
According to the plea agreement, Cullis said that when he was alone with Leach and De Ridder in a car, Leach said he needed a firearm, which Cullis believed was for protection as he knew the “two were involved in the abalone industry.”
He added that although he had no idea how to obtain a firearm, he, “to look cool,” told that he might know someone.
De Ridder and Leach then met up with “other people” in Missionvale where they obtained the firearm.
Cullis stated that Leach had fired two shots while driving, and had stated that “Arnold wanted Vicki dead.”
He said he thought that Leach was just “high” from the drugs they had taken earlier.
Cullis said when they returned to Vicki's home at Westview Villas, he wanted to tell her that her life was in danger but “still thought it was just a joke.”
He said Leach then wanted to go for another drive and told him and De Ridder that he did not know how to kill Vicki, adding that it was De Ridder who had suggested that they make it look like an overdose.
According to the plea deal, they went to Schauderville where they bought between 30 and 40 Percocet tablets, which were then mixed with a fizzy drink which they all tasted.
When Leach returned from the main bedroom in the house, he told De Ridder and Cullis, who were playing video games, that he had given Vicki the concoction before having sex with her.
Cullis said, much later he could hear Leach snoring in the bedroom, but also heard Vicki gagging.
He said moved her to the spare bedroom where he turned her on her side while thinking of a plan to rescue her.
However, fell asleep as he had also taken drugs, including Percocet and passed out next to Vicki.
Early the next morning, Cullis said Leach woke up and was confused when Vicki was not in the bed next to him, when he saw his girlfriend with him in the spare room he accused Cullis of having sex with her.
He also blamed him for the drug overdose not working because he had moved her onto her side.
Cullis said Leach forced him to finish the job saying "You do it now!"
Leach eventually grabbed a pillow when De Ridder walked into the room, suffocating Vicki.
The plea further stated that Leach had instructed them to change Vicki's clothing as she was lying in her own urine, and told the two to wear socks over their hands when handling her body.
They wrapped Vicki’s body in bedding and then had to force her body into the boot of Leach’s BMW as it would not initially fit in.
Cullis said while driving around with Vicki's body in the boot, Leach had called someone on a “burner phone” and said in Afrikaans that “it was finished” (Dit is klaar).
De Ridder then said, in Afrikaans that Vicki's husband was playing dumb.
They then went go-karting because “Leach said they needed an alibi.”
They later sold Vicki's phone to Cash Crusaders and looked for someone to dig a hole to get rid of the body.
Cullis said a man called "Peanut" was paid R1 200 to dig a hole and while they waited they went to the Chelsea Sports Bar to get drunk and gamble with money given to them by Leach.
“When the grave was ready, they drove to the site where Cullis had to keep a lookout while De Ridder and Leach dumped the body.”
Cullis was sentenced to 18 years in prison for murder, 15 for robbery with aggravating circumstances and five years for defeating the ends of Justice.
The sentences will run concurrently.
During the plea, Cullis, who heard that he became a father while in prison, expressed his remorse and indicated his wish to rehabilitate himself.
He apologised for the fact that he left Vicki's son without a mother and his own child without a father.
Vicki's estranged husband and Leach will be back in court next month as a trial date has not yet been set.
For more details on this case catch up on our exclusive podcast "Journey-to-Justice".
