The boyfriend of 26-year-old schoolteacher Allison Plaatjies - who was found dead in her apartment in Clanwilliam, north of Cape Town, on Sunday - appeared in the Clanwilliam magistrate's court on Wednesday.

Philip April, a 24-year-old student teacher, was arrested after police discovered that Plaatjies had sustained multiple stab wounds.

April and Plaatjies had been dating since 2016 and met in Wellington, where they studied together at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT)

April made a brief appearance and was charged with murder, theft of a motor vehicle and defeating the ends of justice. 

Prosecutor Heini Schwartz said a sharp knife was used to repeatedly stab Plaatjies in the neck - to the extent that her head had been severed. 

Online news platform Netwerk24 reported that April was seen driving Plaatjies' car alone in the town centre on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday he was pulled over for alleged drunk-driving. 

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the case was postponed to November 13 for a bail application. 

Grief has poured out of the small Western Cape community since the news of the murder broke, with many describing Plaatjies as a teacher who inspired her students. 

Sederberg Primary School, where she taught Afrikaans to grade 5 children, was not available for comment. 

Charissa Matthyse, her friend from Swellendam, where she grew up, confirmed that April was known to Plaatjies.