SHE WAS SO KIND

Freinds tell how pastor Liezel and her family moved to KZN for a fresh start. Now she has been murdered in mysterious circumstances and her husband is in hospital

- JOHANÉ SCOTT

SHE had so much going for her – a congregation enchanted by her open style and outgoing personality, two little girls she adored, many friends, a full life.

So when Dutch Reformed minister Liezel de Jager (38) was found slain in the driveway of her home in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, the community was in shock. An autopsy confirmed she’d died by strangulation. Nothing had been stolen – her keys, cellphone and handbag were all found at the scene.

There were so many unanswered questions – and the mystery deepened when her widower, Werner de Jager (43), went missing 10 days after her murder.

For four days authorities searched for him until he was eventually found in a serious condition in his car in a sugar plantation near Illovo, south of Amanzimtoti.

Kyle van Reenen, national spokesperson for private medical emergency service Emer-G-Med, was on the scene when Werner was found and told YOU it appeared he’d been there for about four days.

The plantation is about 11 km from the manse where Werner’s wife was murdered. He was admitted to an Amanzimtoti hospital and at the time of going to print was still being kept there.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, those close to Liezel say she put on a brave face to the world and always considered others before herself.

They also tell of Werner’s long-term battle with depression and of previous incidents when he went missing and attempted suicide.

There were also regular trips from Upington – where Liezel had been a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church Kanon Eiland for eight years before moving to KZN – to Bloemfontein for counselling, they say.