Publications
Partners
- A “nervous” Jeremy Sias said he had killed Meghan Cremer to avoid going to jail.
- He later told police before pointing out her body that he wanted to benefit from a shorter sentence so that he wouldn’t be imprisoned “forever” and would get to see his children again.
- He denies killing her, but admitted to disposing of her body.
Meghan Cremer murder accused Jeremy Sias claims to have admitted to killing her in the hope that he would avoid jail time.
This was the testimony of Captain Winston Pickard, who led the police convoy when Sias took officers to the scene where he had dumped her dead body.
Sias now, however, denies murdering her, claiming to have only disposed of her remains after finding her dead in the boot of her stolen car.
Pickard, who was testifying in the Western Cape High Court, said when he met Sias three years ago, the murder suspect told him he knew why he had been brought to see him.
“He said, ‘Yes, because I committed a murder’,” Pickard said, detailing what transpired before the murder accused took police to the field where her decomposing body was found in the early hours of 8 August 2019.
Reading from the statement taken by him and signed by Sias, Pickard said he conducted the interview in Afrikaans, Sias’ mother tongue. He had advised him of his rights, Pickard testified, which Sias said he had understood.
“He was nervous. He looked like he had something to say but appeared uncertain whether he should or not,” Pickard said.
Sias had claimed to have been assaulted by police, but did not show him any injuries to his body.
Nevertheless, he still wanted to proceed.
According to this statement, he had been promised by one of the officers that if he gave his cooperation, he “would not go to jail”, although he couldn’t remember the policeman’s name.
When asked if he expected any benefits from pointing out the scene, he said he did – a shorter sentence so that he could see his children again and “won’t be in jail forever”.
PODCAST | Spotlight on mob justice after innocent man killed
They drove about 7km from the Philippi police station into the nearby farmlands, where the accused instructed the constable driving to stop as they needed to head to the scene on foot.
“We walked about 10, 15 minutes. It was a bushy and dark area. We had flashlights and the accused led the way,” Pickard said.
“We got to a tree and he pointed out where the body was. He pointed out the deceased, Meghan Cremer.”
The crime scene was taken over by his colleagues and Sias was returned to the police station.
“I once again asked him if he wanted to reread what had been recorded before we left. He didn’t want to.”
During cross-examination, Pickard conceded that he possibly should have stopped the proceedings after Sias indicated he wanted legal representation, that he claimed to have been assaulted and that he expected benefits such as a lesser sentence.
He, however, maintained that Sias had nevertheless wanted to continue taking police to the scene.
Bashier Sibda, for the defence, said Pickard had “steamrolled proceedings”.
“Your primary focus and that of your colleagues was to find the body,” he told the captain.
“That is correct,” Pickard responded.
Sibda argued that Sias had admitted to killing Cremer because he thought that was what the officers “wanted to hear”.
But Pickard countered that he didn’t notice any indication that the accused was lying to him.
He also said he had not prompted the accused to do anything but answer his questions.
Sias denies that he murdered Cremer, a horse rider and businesswoman who lived on Vaderlandsche Rietvlei Farm, where he was employed as a general worker.
He admits disposing of her dead body after he supposedly discovered it in the boot of her Toyota Auris. He claims he took her car for a joyride on 3 August, after finding it with the key in the ignition.
According to him, he found her body later that night while rifling through the vehicle. He says he dumped it because he feared he would be accused of killing her.
Proceedings ended early on Monday as the prosecutor was ill.
Sias had also complained of severe toothache and was taken to the doctor, who urged the accused to be taken to a dentist as he risked severe infection as a result of six decayed teeth.
He was prescribed painkillers and anti-inflammatories.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
