Showmax unveils ‘Stella Murders’

Showmax has released the first trailer for Stella Murders, a new true crime documentary from David Enright and IdeaCandy, the director and production company respectively behind the breakout hit Devilsdorp, one of Showmax’s ten most streamed titles of 2021. 

Premiering on 17 March 2023, Stella Murders investigates the deaths of best friends Sharnelle Hough (17) and Marna Engelbrecht (16) at their hostel at Stella High School in North West. One Saturday morning, 26 May 2018, Sharnelle was found hanged by the staircase and Marna was discovered in a bathroom, with both deaths initially looking like suicides. 

“Stella Murders is a heart-wrenching story,” says Yolisa Phahle, CEO of Showmax and Connected Video at MultiChoice. “It deals with every parent’s worst fear. The production was made with cooperation from Sharnelle and Marna’s families, who hope their story will prevent similar tragedies.”

The 90-minute Showmax Original features interviews with Ronnie and Sonja Hough, Sharnelle’s parents; Stefaans, Rianet, and Riané Engelbrecht, Marna’s father, mother and sister; Captain Zagaries Human, the Stella South African Police Services station commander; Captain Markus Ferreira, the investigating officer; private investigator Chris Saunders; and Advocate Johan Smit, the state prosecutor, now retired. Also look out for Marizka Coetzer from Devilsdorp, who covered the Stella Murders case for Huisgenoot. 

Home to just over 4,000 people, Stella is a small, quiet cattle-farming dorpie near Vryburg in North West. 

“In such a close-knit community, danger is expected to come from the outside,” says clinical psychologist Elmarie Claassens in the documentary. “But the thing about danger is: it doesn’t come exclusively from the outside.”

The documentary makes it clear that the town is still processing the deaths. 

Says Enright: “While working on Stella Murders, it became important for us to understand if there was any form of emotional healing for the families and community that experienced this trauma. It became clear that the impact of this tragic event was far-reaching and calls for important reflection on the culture that cultivates gender-based violence. 

“Hopefully this documentary will not only highlight some of the red flags to look out for, but will also become part of the nationwide conversation about the shameful levels of violence against women in South Africa.”