The gruesome murder of Reverend Liezel de Jager

Reverend Liezel de Jager (38) lives with her husband Werner (43) and two young daughters in the parsonage next to the Dutch Reformed Church. It takes some getting used to for the congregation to have a woman in the pulpit. But in three years she has quickly won the hearts of Amanzimtoti, a popular seaside resort outside Durban, with her cheerful nature and passionate preaching. Pastor Liezel firmly believes in a healthy mind in a healthy body. That means getting up early every day to run for miles.

For her, October 13, 2021 is a day like any other. At 4.45 am she starts the run with her group of friends. “She was the usual good-natured Liezel,” said Alan Payne, president of the athletics club. “Afterwards we had a chat, then Liezel and the other joggers each got into their cars.” It is then 5.40 am. At the parish it is almost time for Werner to get Ila and Lané dressed for their school day. It will never come to that.

At 7:01 am the call comes in to the emergency center. “I need help,” Werner pleads. “My wife was attacked in our garden!” When the operator asks further, Werner replies, sobbing: “She’s dead! I think she’s dead.”

The police find Reverend Liezel stretched out in the parish driveway. She was strangled and her throat was slit. Her pants are pulled down. There does not appear to be any robbery. The car keys, phone and handbag are there for the taking. Liezel is still wearing her watch and rings.

The murder on the doorstep of the parsonage naturally causes great commotion. A member of the church council remembers the victim as ‘truly the most beautiful person, inside and out’. The congregation is “emotionally crushed.” Older church members are crying on the phone. In addition to expressions of ‘heartache’ about the ‘unjust’ murder of the pastor, there have been many prayers for Werner and the ‘girl children’ on the church’s Facebook page.

In the sugar cane

Who so brutally took the life of the beloved pastor Liezel? Because the answer often lies in the relational sphere, the police invite Werner to the station for an interrogation. But ten days after the murder, the grieving husband suddenly seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Liezel’s father Henk van Zyl, himself a former police officer, is the one who reports him missing. They find him three days later in a highly unusual place, Werner sitting in his car in the middle of a sugar cane plantation. Confused and apparently intoxicated, he explains that he has fled from the killers. But for father-in-law Henk there is only one suspect for the murder of his daughter: Werner himself. Unfortunately, the police appear to be too busy with other matters. His dozens of phone calls and emails remain unanswered.

Desperate, Henk contacts Action Society, a citizen’s organization that does everything in its power to solve crimes that have been neglected by the South African police. After even more insistence, the case will be transferred to the national cold case team in November 2023, with apologies for ‘lack of professionalism’.

After two years of waiting, this unit has enough evidence in two weeks to throw Werner behind bars. It then also turns out that he probably has more human lives on his conscience. For example, the police suspect him of causing a fatal traffic accident in April 2023. Linda Eales (54) and her mother-in-law Bernice (84) died. In a South African news program, Linda’s widower wonders: “Why didn’t they arrest him at the time? Would I still have had my wife and my mother?”

It is certain that the police in Amazimtoti have – literally – ignored alarm signals.

False alarm

Because on that fateful morning someone, almost certainly Pastor Liezel, pressed the alarm button at the parsonage at 6:07 am. Within two minutes, Werner, severely out of breath, calls the central station to deactivate the alarm with the code word. False alarm, he says. Less than an hour later, Werner calls back to report the ‘attack’ on his wife.

The detectives must also have noticed that Werner has fresh scratches on his arms. Then there are the recently taken out life policies and changes to Liezel’s will with Werner as beneficiary. Not to mention the many marital quarrels, due to Werner’s depressive moods and his recent exploration of gentlemanly love.

During the trial, the prosecutor makes another explosive revelation. In 2010, Werner may have killed a woman by strangulation during his stay in England. In short: Werner is a danger to society, and especially to his daughters.

On February 22, the Amanzimtoti court will decide whether Werner can be released on bail. As soon as the female judge says ‘no bail‘ says, there is subdued applause in the room. Outside, demonstrators wait for Werner. “Rot in jail! Rot in jail!” they chant as Werner enters the police van, grinning and under guard.

On April 15, 2024 there will be breaking news in South Africa: Werner de Jager has died of ‘medical complications’. It will later turn out that these ‘complications’ are the result of an overdose of sleeping pills that he managed to hoard in his cell.

For the faithful, the comforting thought remains that the judgment now lies with the Supreme Judge.

Murder in South Africa

With 45 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world. To make matters worse, the resolution rate is a sad 12 percent. Although the figures can vary enormously per region, or even residential area. For example, the Cape slum of Nyanga has a murder rate six times higher than the national average. Those who can afford it prefer the safety of the ‘fenced neighborhoods’, with 24-hour surveillance by private security companies. Although even these cannot always stop the enemy.