The heiress to the million-dollar German shipping firm DAL was mysteriously shot to death at her family’s luxury South African wildlife estate — a day after the family’s financial manager was killed on the reserve.
Caroline von Rantzau, 26, was found dead inside her room at the Leeuwfontein Estate in the Limpopo province in northern South Africa on June 1, police said, according to German newspaper Bild.
Gunshots were reported on the property, which offers trophy hunting in “South Africa’s Premier Safari Region,” before von Rantzau was found suffering from a gunshot wound.
Police believe von Rantzau was shot by a .357 caliber hunting rifle, the same weapon that her father, Dr. Eberhart von Rantzau, had in his gun cabinet, the outlet reported.
The elder von Rantzau is the managing director of Deutsche Afrika-Linien, which is based in Hamburg, Germany.
Hours before von Rantzau’s death, the family estate’s financial manager, Arno Koën, was found dead on the property.
The 44-year-old employee was killed by a 9mm gunshot on May 31.
Officials are awaiting the results of autopsies.
“The results of the autopsy will give investigators information about the actual causes of death and will determine whether investigations will be launched against other persons,” South African Police Services spokeswoman Malesela Ledwaba told the outlet.
Police haven’t shared any additional details surrounding the deaths.
No arrests have been announced in either shooting.
Initial reports circling the company claimed von Rantzau had been killed in a car accident, but they were debunked.
Koën, described as a confidant and mentor and “foster father” to the young heiress, was in charge of the bookings and finances at the Leeuwfontein Estate, Bild reported.
Von Rantzau had begun to build an impressive real estate portfolio of her own, having just purchased two properties in the sprawling, untamed lands of the South African province, near the Mozambique border.
She spent her time caring for the animals at the family estate, where antelope, horses, wildebeast, impalas, mongoose, monitors and birds live, according to the website.
DAL, which sold its container liner business to Hapag-Lloyd in 2022, is a leading brand in chemical tankers across Europe, the company said.
Dr. Eberhart von Rantzau is part of the third generation of family ownership of the company founded by John T. Essberger in 1924.
