The Late Night Call Every Parent Dreads

This is part one of the impact statement that my mother read in court.

‘The Late Night Call Every Parent Dreads’

Normal as we knew it, came to an abrupt end on Friday, 2 October 2009.

Whilst at home watching a DVD, my husband, Claude received a call late evening from our daughter Cayly to advise us that she and her boyfriend (at the time) had been hijacked. She used the phone of one of the ladies at the Noordhoek Club to contact us as the hijackers had taken their phones. She didn’t want to alarm her Dad so she initially told him that she couldn’t chat long and that she was okay. She advised him that the Police had arrived.

I overheard the brief conversation and could hear by her voice tone that she wasn’t okay and so we headed off straight to Noordhoek. Whilst on our way, I received a call from a lady at the Noordhoek Ski Club asking us to please come as quickly as possible as Cayly and her boyfriend were extremely distressed and traumatised.

Upon our arrival, we noticed The Flying Squad vehicles at the Club and walked inside to find the young couple. I put an arm around each of them and pulled them towards me and held them closely. They were both crying. Cayly told me that she needed to be taken to hospital, as she had been badly hurt. I asked her whether she had been raped and she said, ‘Yes.’ I asked her whether she had told the Police and she said, ‘No, I was waiting for you’. I instantly shifted into ‘auto pilot’ and broke the news to my husband and then told the Police. The Police wanted Cayly to give a statement but my husband insisted that she first be taken to hospital for medical treatment.

We drove off to the hospital surrounded by police vehicles, with some that also raced ahead to secure each intersection so that we could travel without interruption. Just to add to the surreal experience, whilst driving to the hospital, the police helicopter flew overhead with its searchlight blazing, looking for the attackers.

The next post is, The Hospital Experience.