The family of a 31-year-old pregnant mother, who was stabbed to death in the Hluleka Reserve, near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, were told that two men were behind Tuesday's brutal attack.

Karen Turner's husband, Matthew, who is stable condition in ICU at a Pietermaritzburg private hospital, told her brother, Ian Crouch, that they were attacked in their sleep at around 3am.

Crouch told TimesLIVE on Wednesday that his brother-in-law said that there were "two intruders".

"They were attacked in their sleep by two intruders. He was woken up by being stabbed in the stomach and my sister screaming as she was being stabbed at the same time by the other person," Crouch said.

Matthew, a 33-year-old Underberg dairy farmer, his wife Karen, a locum teacher, and their 23-month-old son had booked into the reserve on Monday to attend a wedding in the province.

The couple's friends, also dairy farmers from KwaZulu-Natal, had booked into a neighbouring chalet.

Crouch said his brother-in-law told him that he did not know the motive for the attack.

"Nothing was taken. They didn't demand anything. They didn't ask for money. They literally came up, stabbed him and my sister. He (Matthew) thinks they left because he managed to get up and fight a bit. He thinks because of the resistance, they left. They didn't have time to take anything because he had chased them out."

Crouch said his nephew was asleep in a cot in the room near the stairs.

"My nephew is fine. He is two years old so he doesn't really know what has happened. He is with his grandparents and aunt. My parents are not fine. They are taking a huge strain."

Crouch dismissed speculation on social media that a domestic incident led to the stabbing.

"I am very close to them. We spend a lot of time with them. There is no way that domestic violence is even a possibility."

"I know where the confusion has come in. The friend that were staying in a neighbouring chalet reported to the reserve's employees that he heard a commotion. They [people on social media] turned that into him hearing an argument when he really heard people screaming," he said.

The friend went to investigate.

Police said he found the child unharmed while Karen had already died on scene. Turner was rushed to a local hospital before he was airlifted to Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday afternoon.

Crouch confirmed that his sister was three months pregnant.

"My sister and her husband recently moved into the main house on the farm. They had just done it up and were excited about it."

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Capt Dineo Koena said police were still investigating.