Cop wiped kids' blood off walls

2008-11-11 20:39

Cape Town - Senior Superintendent Denise Brand, former commander at the Kuils River charge office, was so shocked over the triple slayings of three young children that she could not focus on her work, the Cape High Court heard on Tuesday.

Brand, a close friend of the dead children's mother, Charlotte van der Westhuizen, said she had a sleepless night after hearing about the alleged incident.

The father of the dead children, Marius Van der Westhuizen, former commander at the Claremont police station with the rank of senior superintendent, is on trial before Judge Willem Louw.

After the shootings, on the night of July 28, 2006, Brand had arranged for medical attention for Van der Westhuizen's wife, and had accompanied her to the Kuils River hospital.

That night, during all the trauma and chaos, she received a call that Van der Westhuizen had been found and arrested, she said.

She said she went to the Van der Westhuizen home on the Sunday after the incident, to clean up the house, and wipe blood off the walls.

Brand, herself a mother of teenage children, said she needed ongoing psychotherapy.

She added: "As a responsible parent myself, I had to have the therapy to assist me in bringing up my children properly."

Van der Westhuizen's wife is herself a police officer based at Kuils River in a management capacity.

Of her, Brand said: "She has developed into a strong character with integrity, and has a promising career ahead of her."

At one stage, Brand turned her back to the public gallery to hide the fact that she was in tears.

Prosecutor Mornay Julius suggested that the court take an early tea adjournment to enable Brand to recover.

However, Brand declined the opportunity, and said: "I have waited for two years to tell my story so that I can bury it and get on with my life.

"Charlotte cannot, because she is the mother of the murdered children, but I can."

The case continues on Wednesday.

- SAPA