Former Claremont police station commander Marius van der Westhuizen shot his three children in their beds with his service pistol. Picture Mxolisi Madela
Charlotte van der Westhuizen is fighting the decision to grant parole to her ex-husband, the former acting Claremont police chief who killed their three children in front of her.
Marius van der Westhuizen was charged with three counts of murder by the Supreme Court in 2011 and sentenced to 24 years. According to the court documents, the murders took place at the family’s Brackenfell home in 2006 when Van der Westhuizen, a police superintendent at the time, used his service pistol to shoot his children, Bianca, 16, Marius Eben, 5, and 19-month-old Antoinette, in their beds in front of his wife, who was also a police officer at the time.
As he shot the children, say the court documents, he told his wife that he wanted her to suffer the consequences of having chosen her work as a policewoman above him.”
Van der Westhuizen appeared before the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board on Tuesday June 18, and according to the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo, he has a parole placement date from Wednesday July 31.
Mr Nxumalo said the decision adhered to Section 73 of the Correctional Services Act, which outlines the minimum sentence period that must be served before parole consideration.
Mr Nxumalo said it had been Van der Westhuizen's third appearance before the parole board, with his first session occurring in December 2022. Parole had not been granted at that time due to the need for further profiling.
“Van der Westhuizen has accepted responsibility for his crimes and has participated in therapeutic and other rehabilitation interventions. The victims were involved in the parole-hearing process and have been informed of the CSPB's decision,” he said.
Mr Nxumalo said Van der Westhuizen would attend pre-release programmes to help him transition to life after incarceration.
“Upon his release, he will complete the remainder of his sentence under community corrections, monitored according to parole conditions. His sentence is set to expire in September 2034.”
Community corrections, according to South African law, means the offender will serve the community under parole supervision.
According to an IOL report on Tuesday June 25, the legal team for Ms Van der Westhuizen has lodged a complaint with the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS). Ms Van der Westhuizen’s lawyer, Gerhard van Niekerk, said they were advised of internal steps that could be taken in accordance with the Correctional Services Act.
“We will also consider if we want to approach the high court for a review application,” said Mr Van Niekerk.
Mr Van Niekerk said his client believed the parole board was more offender-centric than victim-centric and she did not believe Van der Westhuizen had been rehabilitated from the body language he had displayed at the parole board appearances.
The Tatler was unable to contact Mr Van Niekerk for further comment by time of publication.
In response, the JICS deputy director for inspections and investigations, Lennard de Souza, said: “JICS does not, in the usual course, become involved in decisions of the CSPB, though it has sought to assist in improving the operation of the parole system overall.”
Mr De Souza said they had urged the family to approach the minister of justice and correctional services and the national commissioner of correctional services, who hold direct responsibility for individual instances of parole.
The Mosaic Training and Healing Centre has condemned the granting of parole to a convicted child murderer.
“We are deeply saddened by this outcome. We firmly believe he has not met the threshold of rehabilitation and change, as we communicated to the parole board in 2023. Beyond this, we fear for Charlotte’s life. By failing her, the system may have placed her in further harm’s way,” said the centre’s executive director, Advocate Tarisai Mchuchu-MacMillan.
Van der Westhuizen had only served 13 years of a 24 year prison sentence, she said, adding, “Letting him serve the full sentence would at least mean that he has served the minimum sentence required for life imprisonment.”
Ms Van der Westhuizen and the Claremont police declined to comment.