The Department of Correctional Services is reviewing the decision to grant parole to a former Claremont police officer who is jailed for killing his three children.
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Marius van der Westhuizen, who has served 13 years of an effective 24-year jail sentence, was due to be released on parole on 31 July 2024.
In 2006, he murdered his three children aged 21 months, five years and 16 years. He was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time and was stationed at the Claremont police station in Cape Town.
He accepted full responsibility for the murders. His wife Charlotte recently shared a social media post in which she stated that he shot their children because ‘[she] didn’t listen to him. He murdered my children to punish me. He walked from child to child and shot each of them in their heads. He then locked me inside. I could see my children were dead.’
She reportedly told News24 that she feared for her life and suffered from nightmares about him.
Van der Westhuizen has previously applied for parole on two occasions.
Now, the correctional department directed a board to review the decision to grant him parole.
‘The department believes it is fair and in the interest of justice to scrutinise the process followed [by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board] and the assessment reports in the profile of Marius van der Westhuizen,’ says departmental spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.
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Picture: Theo Jeptha / Gallo Images