Mom shot dead in driveway hijacking

Mom shot dead in driveway hijacking
2011-02-07 08:23


The window of the Corsa bakkie in which Doris de Jager, 50, was shot dead in the driveway of her Johannesburg home. (Brendan Croft, Beeld)

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Jani Meyer, Beeld
Johannesburg - A man watched as hijackers shot and killed his mother through her closed car window when she arrived home over the weekend.

Doris de Jager, 50, worked as a stenographer at the South Gauteng High Court. She was involved in the trial of Glenn Agliotti, who was acquitted of the murder of mining tycoon Brett Kebble, and also the trial of Jackie Selebi, former chief of police, who was found guilty of corruption.

The hijackers had apparently been waiting at the house for Doris and her 21-year-old daughter, Margie, to return from a shopping trip on Saturday.

Margie was closing the gate when she saw two men on their property in Ridgeway, in the south of Johannesburg.

“One of them had a pistol in his hand. I ran to the house and called out to [her brother] Danie. I also phoned ADT,” she said.

Two shots

Seconds later, she heard two shots.

Danie de Jager, 29, was lying on the couch when his sister came running into the house.

“I heard a scream and bolted outside.”

He saw his mother in his silver Corsa bakkie, shying away from her attacker.

“The man shot her through the closed window and then started shooting at me.” They then fled.

Doris rolled out of the vehicle and collapsed.

“I did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but there was something running out of her mouth and she turned yellow,” her son said.

Margie heard her brother call out and saw her mother on the ground.

"I heard her make a gurgling sound, then I knew it was over,” she said.

Hijackers followed

Meanwhile, one of their neighbours and his friends had followed the hijackers for several kilometres, but gave up when they realised the hijackers knew they were being followed.

The neighbour, who prefers to stay anonymous, had been at a park near the De Jagers’s home.

“We saw a white Opel Astra with four men inside. It stopped and two men got out. We were immediately suspicious,” the neighbour said.

The vehicle returned a short while later, while the neighbour was returning to his house with his friends. On their way there, they heard two shots being fired.

“We drove around and found the Astra. We followed the car, but then it slowed down we realised they had noticed we were following them, so we turned back. When we came back we found Danie sitting next to his mother,” he said.

ADT and an ambulance arrived moments later.

Close

Christian de Jager, the victim’s husband, said he had spoken to her via cellphone only five minutes before the hijacking.

“She was everything to me. I don’t know how I’m going to survive without her. We were married when she was only 17 years old and had just finished school… now I’m alone.”

Margie, the “baby” of the family, said she wishes she was the one who was dead.

“She was more than my mother, she was my best friend. The two of us have always been very close.”

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Gordon Billings said the police are investigating the case.



- Beeld