Please don’t put my father away, pleads wife murderer’s daughter
THE 28-year-old daughter of convicted wife murderer Rob Packham yesterday told the Western Cape High Court that her father is a kind and caring man who provided for his family and never showed violence or aggression towards them.
Testifying in mitigation of sentence, Kerry Meyer asked the court not to put her father away “forever” as she wanted him to be around when she and her younger sister, Nicola, 26, have children.
She described her family as close and said her parents had a normal marriage with its ups and downs, but that her father’s infidelities had caused her mother much hurt and anger.
Meyer, who works as a teacher in the UK, said she could always go to her father for advice and that he would help wherever he could.
Packham was unable to attend her wedding in December last year, because his bail was revoked after he violated its conditions.
Meyer told the court she had been devastated by her mother’s death. She had spoken to her every day despite living in the UK for the past two years.
“She was a warm, loving, fun and friendly lady and it was always easy to talk to her.”
The Constantia businessman was convicted of murdering his wife Gill and defeating the ends of justice on Monday.
Judge Elize Steyn described Packham as an “accomplished liar” who had led a double life and whose version of events was clearly fabricated.
His wife, with whom he had been having marital problems because of his infidelities, disappeared on February 22, last year. She did not arrive for work at the usual time of 7.30am and her body was later found in the boot of her burnt-out BMW near the Diep River train station.
Steyn rejected Packham’s version that she could have been the victim of a random hijacking and instead found that Packham was “a crafty deceiver”, agreeing with the State that his conduct was “incomprehensible” and had been indicative of guilt.
She said Packham had misled his family and his wife about terminating his relationship with his mistress and that his version had been dishonest and unreliable. Furthermore, there had been many instances where he was found to have lied or changed his version.
The case was postponed to June 10 and the sentence is expected to be handed down on June 12.