Werner de Jager, accused of murdering his wife Liezel at their Amanzimtoti home more than two years ago, alternately laughed and cried during his bail application this week.
This was as prosecutor Gayle Greyling read out an affidavit to the court in which the investigating officer claimed the murder was premeditated and was committed so he could claim from life insurance policies he had taken against his wife’s life just two months prior.
Apart from the murder charge, he is now also facing two counts of fraud relating to this. He is accused of submitting claims to Momentum for R2m and R1.29m in October 2023.
The policies, however, were not paid out.
At the time of Liezel’s murder on October 13 2021, it is alleged their relationship was in tatters and Werner was in dire financial circumstances and under debt review.
Liezel, a reverend at the local NG Kerk Suidkus, was attacked when she returned home from her regular morning run.
It is alleged Werner suffocated her and after she died, cut her throat then “staged” the crime scene by removing her underwear to indicate a sexual assault.
If convicted, Werner faces life imprisonment.
While previously there were suggestions around his mental health, at the bail hearing this week his legal representative did not apply for him to be referred for mental observation.
Werner did not give any evidence.
Werner was arrested in November 2023 in Bloemfontein after the SAPS cold case unit took over the investigation.
In her affidavit opposing bail, Lt-Col Maria Roodt said the state believed Werner had a clear motive for her murder and had planned it for at least two months.
He had committed the crime while the couple’s two young daughters were present on the property — which was also guarded by dogs — and the state would show that the degree of violence was indicative of his wife suffering a long and painful death after putting up a heroic struggle for her life.
Roodt said while he was attacking Liezel the house alarm had gone off. He told the security company, while breathing heavily, that all was in order and he had pressed the panic button by mistake.
But an hour later, he pushed the panic button again, saying his wife had been attacked. He claimed that he had left home to take the children to school and discovered the body on his return.
The police found fresh bruises and scratches on him and noted that the children were not even dressed for school.
Investigations were ongoing to establish whether he had been assisted by a second person, and a “person of interest” had been identified, Roodt said.
She said after his arrest, he had made a statement to the police in which he had made various admissions and had asked for forgiveness and said he had prayed about what had happened and “just wanted to tell the truth”.
Roodt said Werner had “gone missing” after the murder — a day before he was to undergo a polygraph test.
He had, on his own admission, attempted to commit suicide 12 times.
He was also a suspect in a culpable homicide case relating to a motor vehicle accident in April 2023 in Kroonstad in which two people died and three were seriously injured.
“The investigating team has taken over this docket and he is due to be arrested in the near future. His prior conduct is an indication that if he is released on bail, he may commit further offences, and we are of the opinion that no bail conditions can contain a person who, because of his fluctuating and unstable mental condition, cannot control himself,” Roodt said.
She said Werner was a danger to society — noting the high incidence of gender-based violence in South Africa.
“This crime has caused shock and outrage in the community and a deep sense of loss to her parishioners.”
The bail hearing will continue on January 24 in the Amanzimtoti magistrate’s court. The matter will then be transferred to Durban, and a decision will be taken whether he will stand trial in the regional or high court.
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