• The first teaser trailer for the Stella Murders documentary has debuted.
• The documentary is a Showmax original and comes from the same producers as Devilsdorp.
• It follows the events surrounding the deaths of Sharnelle Hough and Marna Engelbrecht at their hostel at Stella High School in the North West in 2018.

Viewers interested in local true crime series will want to set aside 17th March 2023, when Showmax makes its latest original documentary, Stella Murders, available to stream on its platform. This new documentary comes from the same producers behind Devilsdorp, which too was a Showmax original.

A teaser trailer for the upcoming documentary has been published on the Showmax YouTube channel, and is available to view below.

As the name suggests, this documentary focuses on the events surrounding the deaths of friends Sharnelle Hough and Marna Engelbrecht at their hostel at Stella High School in the North West.

“On 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,” reads a press release about the documentary.

“Stella Murders is a heart-wrenching story. 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,” adds Yolisa Phahle, CEO of Showmax and Connected Video at MultiChoice.

The documentary runs for roughly 90 minutes and features interviews with Sharnelle’s parents, Ronnie and Sonja Hough, as well as Marna’s father, mother and sister, Stefaans, Rianet, and Riané Engelbrecht.

Also interviewed are Captain Zagaries Human, the Stella SAPS station commander, Captain Markus Ferreira, the investigating officer, private investigator Chris Saunders, and more individuals involved with this case.

“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,” notes director David Enright. 

“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,” he concluded.