- The family of Elroy van Rooyen, the 10-year-old Norman Simons killed, believes the accused serial killer should not be released on parole.
- The Department of Correctional Services met with Mitchells Plain residents at the Lentegeur Civic Centre on Sunday.
- Simons served 28 years behind bars.
“He should not get parole, and the family does not agree with this.”
This is the view of 10-year-old Elroy van Rooyen’s family who vehemently opposes the release of his killer, Norman Simons.
Simons was accused but not convicted of being the Station Strangler who was active in the 1980s and 1990s.
Elroy’s family was part of a community meeting hosted in Mitchells Plain by the Department of Correctional Services to discuss Simons’ imminent release.
The department plans on hosting a series of talks with residents of Parow and Strand in the coming days.
Simons, a teacher from Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain, was convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Elroy in 1995.
He was suspected of being a serial killer after the bodies of 22 boys were found in shallow graves in Mitchells Plain between 1986 and 1994.
Norman Simons after his arrest in 1994. (Photo: Court File)
He was only tried and sentenced in 1995 for kidnapping and murdering Van Rooyen.
Despite the department reassuring residents Simons would be subjected to stringent parole conditions, some had mixed views over his release.
READ | Station Strangler accused to be subjected to strict parole conditions – correctional services
Zorah Motasi from the organisation Women in Action and the Van Rooyen family spokesperson said they were deeply disappointed with the decision to release Simons on parole.
“The family is not happy with the fact that the perpetrator will be released on parole.
“We do not agree that he should be released, and the pain and suffering of the Van Rooyen family was shared in the Strand community.”
Motasi added the Van Rooyen family had approached the organisation to represent them at the community meeting.
“The family was approached two weeks ago by correctional services informing them that Simons will be released.
“We are expected to accept that he will be part of the community again. The justice system never catered for the family, and there were never social workers taking care of the family,” she said.
The family of Elroy Van Rooyen attends the community meeting hosted in Mitchells Plain by the Department of Correctional Services to discuss Norman Simons’s imminent release.
News24 BERTRAM MALGAS
Simons was sentenced to 25 years for Elroy’s murder and 10 years for kidnapping.
His sentence was increased to life after a failed appeal bid.
He has been behind bars for 28 years.
Mitchells Plain resident Reva Fortune said she was unhappy with the decision.
“A leopard’s spots never change,” she added during the community meeting.
Fortune said families have been left without justice.
“You have no idea what this has caused in the community. My children were little back then.
“If I have the chance, I will slaughter that man because he took away the rights of our children, and he never thought of our children. I am angry as hell,” she added.
Reva Fortune, a resident of Mitchells Plain.
News24 BERTRAM MALGAS
Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum chairperson Norman Jantjies said he firmly believed Simon should be released.
“We are sitting with mixed emotions. Serious criminals are released daily in Mitchells Plain, and I believe that Norman should be given a chance and he has served his sentence.
“I believe he should ask forgiveness for the trauma he has put us through as a community,” he added.
The head of community corrections for the Bellville area, Ronnie Bila, said Simons would be under house arrest 24 hours a day.
He would not be allowed close to children, and an official from the department would visit his residence eight times a month.
READ | ‘Station Strangler’ up for parole, but decades later, questions still remain
Simons will also not be allowed to speak to the media unless he makes an application to the department for permission.
The department’s regional head of corrections, Lawrence Venter, said: “The reason why we are here, the regional commissioner reasoned that we want to inform the families involved first.
The department’s Regional Head of Corrections, Lawrence Venter
“We had meetings with all 21 families, and it’s not that we tried to keep communities out, but we want to keep the focus on the families involved.”
Simons is expected to be released on Thursday.