The family of a Heinz Park man accused of strangling and bashing his ex-girlfriend to death have revealed that he confessed to his crime to them, explaining that he was high on drugs at the time.
The shocking admission by the mother of Deon Williams, 34, comes just days before he returns to the Athlone Magistrate’s Court for the murder of the mother of his child, Nadia Britz.
The 23-year-old mom was found in Williams’ hokkie on 26 August, a day after her family reported that she had been kidnapped.
The young mom had allegedly been placed in the bed to make it look as if she was sleeping after she had been strangled and her head bludgeoned.
Last week, a 30-year-old relative who asked not to be named said Nadia had been snatched from her relatives’ home the day before and killed by Williams, who had refused to accept that their relationship was over.
The couple had been together for four years and were both addicted to drugs. Their one-year-old son was subsequently placed in foster care with Nadia’s family.
They also revealed that she had left Williams, started a new relationship and had stopped using drugs in an attempt to prove to social workers that she could be a good mother.
Williams was arrested and charged with murder and is expected to go ahead with his bail hearings this week.
Now his mother Katy van Rhyn,72, has come forward to reveal he has confessed his guilt. She says the day before the murder, the family did not see Nadia and denied that the young woman had cried for her family’s help.
“I did not see Nadia the day before the incident happened. The family was not part of this and nobody heard her scream.
“On the Monday morning, my daughter called me to say I must come and see what happened. Deon went to his sister and told her that he strangled Nadia and that he did not mean to do it. When she asked him why, he said he smoked tik, Mandrax and that he was drinking.”
The mother says after police were called to the scene, her son waited for the detectives and did not run away.
“He stayed the entire time and did not try to run away from the police. I heard that he joined the Fancy Boys gang about a month ago and this whole thing made me sick.
“Deon and Nadia both used drugs and my daughter says even though she had another boyfriend, she still came to him on weekends.
“We are also hartseer for Nadia’s family and we believe Deon must pay for what he did.”
Meanwhile, Nadia’s adamant family says they know what they heard on arrival at the house.
“His family is lying, she never went there on weekends. She lived in Lentegeur and that is where she started coming right. We know who was there and we know what we heard. The Sunday she was killed, it was only the second time she had visited Heinz Park.
“She has a boyfriend and they would video call until late at night and were very much in love.”
Williams, who is in custody, will return to court on Thursday for his bail hearing.