A teacher from Brits who is accused of killing his wife appeared in Brits Magistrates’ Court on Friday on murder charges.

Johan Smith (55), a teacher at a primary school near Brits is accused of murdering his wife Theonette Smith (57) on Sunday, 13 October.
According to police spokesperson Constable Ben Moabi, Theonette’s body was found on a farm in the Rashoop area on Sunday morning.
“When the police received the report of a body found, Smith was at the police station reporting her missing. He accompanied the police to the scene and identified the body as that of his wife Theonette Smith. He told police that his wife had gone missing the day before, after an argument,” Moabi said.
Moabi said after a police investigation, Smith was arrested later the same day. “The accused appeared before Brits Magistrates Court on Friday, 19 October 2024 and the case was postponed to Friday, 25 October 2024.” Smith remains in custody.
According to Chris van den Heever of Secure Guarding who responded to the scene where the body was found, the security company received a call from Smith in the early hours of Sunday, reporting that his wife was missing.
“We deployed our patrollers in the area to be on the lookout for her. Early on Sunday morning pedestrians discovered the body and we were alerted,” Van den Heever said.