Sandra Jane Cilliers

Jane Cilliers (1948 - 2005)

Brief overview:

Jane (58), a pharmacist at the Bloemfontein National Hospital, was tied up and then strangled on 24/10/2006 in her Bouquet townhouse in Pentagon Park.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • Three testify about mother's alleged murder

Dec 06 2007

A morning of horror when they found her tied up body beside her bed in their mother's looted townhouse shortly after each other was described in the Free State High Court by the two youngest daughters of a Bloemfontein pharmacist.

Miss. Catherine Cilliers, 22, a student at the University of the Free State (UFS), first arrived with her friend on the morning of October 25, 2005 (an error ?), at Bouquet Townhouse 1, Pentagon Park, after she had just been discharged from the hospital.

She testified before Judge Corné van Zyl that while the gardening services were busy outside, she was in the house. The front door was open and the house was cluttered. When she wanted to open her bedroom door, she took her mother, Mrs. Jane Cilliers, on the floor next to her face.

She was tied up and there were blood splatters. "I called to her, but she didn't answer."

Her friend came along. They suspected the attackers were still in the house and were hiding around a corner and their lives were in danger.

They then got and went to police in Bayswater. While they were away, her sister, Natasha, 20, also a student at the UFS, and her friend arrived.

She testified when she got to her room, she saw the door was forced open and everything was thrown out of the cupboards.

Her friend called to her. She just looked for a moment. Her mother was tied up with her face down. She did not respond when she called her, "It was awful."

She ran out and asked the people of the garden services what had happened. They didn't know. She asked her friend to untie her mother. She then came back and said she was already cold.

Dr. Christine Boshoff, 31, a medical doctor at Universitas and Pelonomi hospitals in Bloemfontein, testified that her two younger half-sisters, Catherine and Natasha, were still living with their mother.

Both of them never wanted to live in the townhouse again after the traumatic experience.

About her mother, she said she was the only parent to play a very important loving role in her life. "She was a very special mother to me."

Christine has identified many of her mother's stolen belongings, such as jewelry, clothing and shoes. Natasha also identified items stolen from her room in court.

Catherine testified about her mother: “You could hear her laugh a mile away. She was a hard working single parent who was loved and respected in the community. "

Natasha testified about her mother: “She was very kind, gentle and would never intentionally hurt anyone. She was a loving person who cared. "

The trial continued.

Additional Biographical Information:

Tribute to Sandra Jane Cilliers (neé Key)

Sandra matriculated from Eunice High School, Bloemfontein in 1964. During her studies she was awarded the Gold Medal as the Best Pharmacy student in South Africa.

At the time that she was murdered, she was working as a pharmacist at the National Hospital and in the evenings at the Universitas pharmacy in Bloemfontein.

Sandra was the mother of three daughters: Christine, Catherine and Natasha. She was a compassionate person and ready to help other people if she could. She was a loyal friend, funny and concerned for all her friends.

Sandra will be missed by many. Dinah von Maltitz

Tribute from: SA Pharmaceutical Journal, Volume 74, Issue 2, Mar 2007

Links to Media articles:

• https://journals.co.za/content/mp_sapj/74/2/EJC81656