Affair exposure ends in lovers’ suicide

Morné de Bruin shot himself at a traffic light on Jean Avenue last Thursday, just days after the married woman he was having an affair with took her own life. Facebook.

Morné de Bruin shot himself at a traffic light on Jean Avenue last Thursday, just days after the married woman he was having an affair with took her own life. Facebook.

Published Jun 27, 2014

Share

 

Johannesburg - On Thursday, Betsie de Bruin buried her only son, who is believed to have killed himself shortly after his married lover took her own life over the affair.

Morné de Bruin shot himself in his car at a traffic light on Jean Avenue in Centurion during rush hour last week, in a shockingly similar manner to his lover.

“It was my only son,” a distraught Betsie said on Friday morning “He was everything in my life, my whole world turned around him. It’s very difficult.”

Morné’s funeral was held at the NG Kerk Culembeeck in Witpoortjie on Friday morning and was described as “traumatic and emotional” by Betsie’s partner Rob Chidrawi this morning.

“There was a very big turnout, there was lots of family. Everybody related to him was there,” Chidrawi said.

He said “lots and lots” of former colleagues and friends also came to show their support.

“It’s still sore, we’re just taking it minute by minute. There’s nothing more we can do.”

According to Chidrawi, Morné was involved with an unknown married woman who was his high school sweetheart.

“We don’t know anything about her, whatsoever,” he said.

He said he understood they had lost touch since school but had recently rekindled their relationship, but he did not know much more than that. “We knew he was involved with a married woman, but to respect her Morné never spoke about her,” Chidrawi said.

Morné, an insurance broker with no children, had apparently told the woman’s husband about the affair and the man was furious, chasing the woman out of their house.

She apparently found her husband’s gun, got into her husband’s car and shot herself in their yard.

Chidrawi said he believed Morné heard about his lover’s suicide the next day, the day before he shot himself in his own car with his own gun.

He said Morné’s cellphone indicates he tried to call his lover several times on the day she killed herself.

Chidrawi said Morné had shown no signs of depression during the affair.

“On the contrary, he was the happiest we had seen him for a very long time.”

Although Morné owned a gun for protection, Chidrawi said they never thought he would use it to take his own life.

He said they believed the sorrow over losing his lover must have been too heavy for him to cope with.

“This was absolutely 100 percent unpremeditated, it was a spur-of-the- moment thing,” he said.

The family took to Facebook on Monday to inform friends of Morné’s death and messages of support flooded in.

“That is sad news, Rob. Please know that we are thinking of you both,” said one friend.

Another said: “Sorry to hear that, good buddy. Lots of strength to both of you.”

Related Topics: