Cape Town - The mother of slain 29-year-old Meghan Cremer said on Monday that she was unable to identify her daughter at the mortuary due to the severity of the injuries Meghan had endured before she was killed.
Jeremy Sias on Monday appeared in the Western Cape High Court, where he has been charged with four counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and defeating the administration of justice, for his alleged attack on Meghan and subsequent attempts to discard evidence.
Sias is represented by advocate Mohamed Sibda and pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges.
State advocate Emily Van Wyk called Gillian Cremer, Meghan’s mother, as the first witness.
Gillian said her daughter rented a cottage at Vaderlandsche Rietvlei, where she had two horses that she was very fond of. Meghan had loved horses since she was six years old and had established a small business making horse products while maintaining a day job as a bakery manager in Woodstock.
Gillian said Meghan and herself were in constant contact and spoke every day through text or phone calls.
“We used to WhatsApp every evening until one of us went to bed,” she said.
She said that she was in contact with Meghan throughout the day on August 3, 2019, and that the last message she sent to her was at 5pm. She tried to get hold of her that evening to no avail, and tried again the next morning.
After multiple failed attempts to get hold of her, she said: “That’s when I knew something was wrong.”
She then enquired from the farm manager and co-workers at the bakery, who informed her that Meghan hadn’t pitched up for work the previous day. She was also informed that Meghan wasn’t home and neither was her car. She immediately flew in from Knysna and started searching for her daughter.
Gillian had received calls from people who spotted Meghan’s car. After a relentless search, Meghan’s body was found on August 8, 2019 at Olieboom Road in Philippi.
Gillian said that when she went to the mortuary, she wasn’t able to recognise her daughter due to the severity of the injuries to her face.
“We asked them to check her left hand, with a ring she wore since she was 15.”
Gillian said it was the only way they could identify Meghan.