Now parents sue Van der Vyver

The dust has not settled around Fred van der Vyver after his acquittal for the murder of his girlfriend, Stellenbosch University student Inge Lotz.

Van der Vyver was acquitted on a charge of murdering Lotz in November in the Cape High Court, but he is now being sued for R8-million in a civil court by her parents, Jan and Juanita Lotz, who have their own ideas about what happened to their daughter.

Van der Vyver's advocate, Dup de Bruyn, said Van der Vyfer had been served with a subpoena on Friday afternoon.

De Bruyn said the Van der Vyver family was "shocked and saddened" by the latest development. The advocate said he knew who was behind the action and what their motive was, but he would not elaborate.

"We will deal with this like a normal action," De Bruyn said.

"Whatever the outcome of the civil case, it could not have any affect on Fred criminally under the double jeopardy laws, which do not allow him to be retried after being found not guilty."

The latest action comes after Van der Vyver brought a R17-million civil claim against the state for wrongful prosecution - described as damaging misconduct.

Van der Vyver was charged with Lotz's murder two months after the killing when police claimed to have found his fingerprint on a DVD she had rented on the afternoon of her murder.

But opinions from several experts suggested that the fingerprint was instead lifted from a glass. The court rejected the fingerprint evidence and criticised the police officers involved for being "evasive".

Lotz's parents were not available for comment but sources close to the family said the investigation supporting the civil action will again centre around the fingerprint issue and other aspects of the case, possibly exposing new evidence.

• This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Argus on March 16, 2008