Trial of Meghan Cremer murder accused begins in Western Cape High Court

Meghan Cremer’s body was found on a sand mine in Philippi on August 8, 2019. File picture

Meghan Cremer’s body was found on a sand mine in Philippi on August 8, 2019. File picture

Published May 23, 2022

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Cape Town - The trial of Jeremy Sias, the man accused of killing Meghan Cremer, is set to start at the Western Cape High Court today where the State will aim to prove that he was responsible for her murder.

Sias, 29, has been charged with four counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and defeating the administration of justice for his alleged involvement in Cremer’s murder and attempts at discarding the evidence.

Cremer’s body was found on a sand mine in Philippi with a blue ribbon tied around her neck, hands and feet on August 8, 2019, after she had been reported missing five days earlier.

It is the State’s case that Sias, a general worker at Vaderlandsche Rietvlei farm, entered Cremer’s home on August 3, 2019, where he allegedly assaulted and strangled Cremer to death and then crammed her body into the boot of her car.

The State said Sias drove around with the vehicle looking for a place to dispose of the body and eventually dumped it at Olieboom Road in Philippi.

He faces charges for allegedly taking her handbag containing bank cards, cellphones, a tablet and her driving licence.

Cremer’s bank card had been used to make several withdrawals between August 3, 2019, and August 5, 2019. According to the State, Sias attempted to destroy the stolen items by discarding them in a toilet.

Initially two other suspects had been arrested along with Sias. The two, Charles Daniels and Shiraaj Jaftha, appeared alongside Sias in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court days after Cremer went missing for possession of her vehicle.

It is the State’s case that Sias enlisted the help of Daniels to sell the vehicle, who then approached Jaftha to assist him. Apparently they had removed the vehicle registration in the hope that it would remain undetected by police.

The National Prosecuting Authority has confirmed that the trial is set to begin at the Western cape High Court today.

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