I recently chatted with a woman by the name of Veronica Els.
Her son Phillip Els died on July 18, four years ago. The police recorded the death as suicide, but his family disagrees.
When you lose a loved one, there is no easy way to grieve, but having unanswered questions sure doesn’t help.
When someone is murdered, and the offender is found guilty and sentenced, there is justice, and some healing can begin.
But how does a family start to heal with an open inquest docket filled with, in their opinion, unanswered questions?
Phillip stayed on a plot outside Hartbeespoort Dam.
His generosity, according to Veronica, might have killed him.
He allowed what she described as ‘unsavoury’ people to live with him. Shortly before his death, he had asked these people to leave his home.
According to the post-mortem, Phillip died from hanging.
The family, unable to accept this, hired a private investigator and enlisted the assistance of a private pathologist.
Unfortunately, Phillip had already been cremated by this time.
The pathologist mentioned in his report that when a hanging takes place, he always looks for dried saliva, which he could not identify in the photos supplied.
He also felt the autopsy report appeared woefully inadequate and the examination of the ligature mark around the neck poor.
Seeing the actual post-mortem report for myself was somewhat shocking.
There appears to be no working scale, no toxicology or blood work done.
While looking at these documents, I got the feeling the state employees were in a rush to get the job done.
Now, the questions the family has may never be answered.
According to the private investigator, the initial police statements taken were superficial, at best.
I know from other cases that when police suspect suicide, they hardly ever consider any other scenarios.
According to these statements, one of the witnesses tells how he wanted to get rid of the body and the car.
I spoke to a police officer I know, and he told me that when a hanging takes place, there is absolutely no doubt.
He said there are clear signs that they look for.
I won’t mention them here as they are horrific, but none of them can be found on Phillip’s post-mortem report or any of the photos I’ve seen.
Will this family ever get closure?
Rest in peace, Christiaan Phillipus Els.
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