15/10/2026
๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ - 2001
๐๐ฟ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ' ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ณ - a prominent dentist in Kempton Park who was sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2001 for his involvement in the murder of his wife, Estelle Greeff.
1999: His wife, Estelle, disappeared from their home in Terenure, Kempton Park, and her body was later found near Cullinan.
The case involved Estelle Greeff, the wife of Kempton Park dentist Dr Casper Greeff, and became a major South African murder trial. Her husband was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2001, alongside Christopher Njeje. A third man, Elliot Masango, had pleaded guilty and was sentenced separately.
๐ญ. ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ: ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
Estelle and Casper had been married for approximately 11 years and had two young daughters. During the bail hearing, Casper described their relationship as troubled and said he suspected Estelle of having affairs.
He testified about an earlier incident in which he hid in a cupboard with a camera while a man was visiting Estelle. He said he emerged when the man was undressed and photographed him. The prosecution later argued that the marriage difficulties and Casper's financial circumstances were relevant to the motive for the killing.
Casper denied arranging his wife's murder. The prosecution alleged that he had hired people to kill her and pointed to life insurance policies worth approximately R746,000.
๐ฎ. ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐ด ๐ก๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ต: ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ
According to the evidence described in the trial, Estelle was at her home in Kempton Park when two men arrived: Elliot Masango, who had worked for Casper as a handyman, and Christopher Njeje, his alleged accomplice.
The prosecution's case was that the two men had been recruited to murder Estelle. Masango later admitted participating in the killing, while the court heard evidence implicating Casper in arranging it.
๐ฏ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ
The court was told that Estelle was strangled until she lost consciousness. The two men believed she was dead and placed her in the boot of her champagne-coloured Mercedes-Benz.
They then drove away from Kempton Park. The prosecution alleged that items, including a television and video recorder, were removed from the house to make the incident look like a robbery.
๐ฐ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป
The men drove approximately 100 kilometres towards the Cullinan area, north-east of Pretoria.
When they opened the boot, they discovered that Estelle was still alive. According to testimony presented in court, they took her out of the vehicle and attacked her with a knife. Njeje was identified in the court reports as the person who ultimately cut her throat.
The reports describe Estelle pleading with her attackers to end her suffering quickly. Her body was abandoned in the veld.
๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ฒ
When Estelle disappeared, the case initially involved a missing woman rather than a confirmed murder.
Casper hired private investigator Slang van Zyl to investigate her disappearance. According to a later account of the case, the detective became suspicious of the circumstances and quickly focused on Masango and Njeje.
Masango eventually led investigators to Estelle's body, which was discovered near Cullinan. The discovery confirmed that she had been murdered.
๐ฒ. ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐ก๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ต: ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐
Casper Greeff, Masango and Njeje were arrested in connection with the murder. Casper was subsequently formally charged alongside the other two men.
During the investigation, Masango told authorities that Casper had arranged the killing and promised payment. Contemporary reports differed on the precise amount allegedly offered, with figures of R30,000 and R60,000 appearing in the proceedings.
๐ณ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ: ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
Investigators and prosecutors examined the state of the Greeffs' marriage, including allegations of infidelity, their arguments and Casper's suspicions about Estelle's relationships.
Another important issue was life insurance. Casper admitted in court that he had insured Estelle's life for approximately R746,000. The prosecution argued that the policy and his financial circumstances provided a possible financial motive.
Casper denied arranging the murder. His defence argued that Masango was unreliable and had implicated him falsely.
๐ด. ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ: ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ผ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ
Masango pleaded guilty to murdering Estelle and agreed to testify against the other accused. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2000.
The court regarded the killing as planned and particularly serious because Estelle had been attacked by people she knew and trusted.
๐ต. ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ญ: ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ'๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐
Casper and Njeje faced trial in the Pretoria High Court. Both denied the charges against them. On 23 February 2001, Judge Johan Els convicted both men of murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The judge found that the evidence established Casper's involvement in arranging the killing. Njeje was also sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the murder.
Casper indicated that he intended to appeal, but the judge refused him leave to appeal at that stage.
๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐?
The story did not end with the sentencing.
- Casper maintained his innocence for years and challenged the evidence against him.
- In February 2015, he was released on parole after serving nearly 14 years in prison.
- In April 2016, reports stated that the Health Professions Council of South Africa had agreed to allow him to return to dentistry under supervision, subject to conditions.
