Woman who killed herself in custody ‘was not drunk’
THE FAMILY of a woman found hanging in a “holding room” of Linden police station in Joburg after being arrested for disturbing the peace have disputed reports that she was drunk.
They claim that the statement from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) that Angelique von Berg, 30, was drunk was not true. They want a proper investigation into her death.
The Star tried on Sunday to speak to Von Berg’s family after receiving information that she had committed suicide while in custody. But the family did not respond to calls or SMSes.
When The Star asked Ipid about the matter, they said Von Berg was arrested for disturb- ance of peace and for being drunk.
Ipid spokesman Robbie Raburabu said Von Berg later wandered into the holding-cell area, where she allegedly committed suicide using the chain of the roller door after she was left in the interrogation room unattended.
Raburabu said they were also investigating circumstances surrounding Von Berg’s death, including negligence on the part of the police.
After the article was published, Von Berg’s family called The Star to set the record straight.
“She was not drunk. She was two months pregnant and was to go for a sonogram the following day to see the sex of her baby,” said Cassandra Antony, who is engaged to Von Berg’s brother, George Richards.
Von Berg also had a 14-yearold daughter, who stays with the daughter’s father in Klerksdorp, as well as a two-year-old boy with a previous partner. The boy was staying with her.
The family said the information they received was that Von Berg had had an altercation with her boyfriend of four months, who was also the father of her unborn baby, at the house they were renting in Blairgowrie, Randburg, after which boyfriend then left.
Later, Von Berg had an altercation with her landlady, after she and her domestic worker took Von Berg’s two-year-old son from her. Von Berg allegedly went “ballistic”, screaming and shouting on the street, wanting her child.
Police were called and Von Berg was taken to Linden police station. The landlady followed the police and dropped the child off at the police station. Von Berg allegedly continued screaming and shouting at the police station, saying she wanted her son.
She was taken to a holding room to “calm down” and was later found dead.
The family said Von Berg was not drunk, did not take drugs and did not have mental issues. They blame the police for what happened and have employed a private investigator to look into the matter.
Tonja Nassif, Antony’s mother’s partner, said Von Berg should have been supervised until she had calmed down “She wouldv’e been safer in the holding cells and would have not got hold of the chain. I want justice, and for the state to care for the children.”