A heartbroken husband will finally receive some answers after the Port Elizabeth High Court called for a formal inquest into an inferno that claimed his wife’s life four years ago.
Clive Killerby, 72, is now hopeful that someone will be held responsible for the death of Heather, his wife of 38 years.
Heather, 60, burned to death at The Gardens Pick n Pay on Circular Drive – where she worked as an administrator – on August 8 2014.
Determined to get to the bottom of what happened – and after being turned down by a magistrate, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams as well as deputy directors for Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape, Killerby and his advocate, Hannelie Bakker, turned to the high court for relief.
On Tuesday, the retired Lorraine resident was finally given the answer he had been fighting for when Judge Irma Schoeman ordered inquest proceedings be reopened.
Schoeman further ordered that the inquest magistrate appoint assessors with the necessary skills and expertise in forensic fire investigations to assist with the hearing.
“[The inquest is to] determine the cause of the fire that caused the death of Heather Killerby and whether the fire was brought about by an act or omission involving or amounting to an offence by any person,” Schoeman said.
Heather, the only fatality, was one of five female employees working on the mezzanine level of the storeroom when the fire broke out.
The cause of the fire was investigated by the SA Police Service and on February 19 2016, a deputy director of public prosecutions in Port Elizabeth, Advocate Indra Goberdan, declined to prosecute.
Following an informal inquest, magistrate Ignatius du Preez said based on information before him, he was unable to record a finding.
Investigations, meanwhile, found that a possible cause was welding work being done at the store, directly above the area where pool chemicals were stored.
While the SAPS found the exact cause of the fire to be inconclusive, a forensic investigator remarked that “negligent use of electrical equipment that releases sparks above easily combustible material without putting in place precautionary measures is the most probable cause”.
Ashley Botha, who had been doing contract work at the Pick n Pay at the time, stated in an affidavit that he had pulled four of the women to safety through a broken window, but Heather had resisted and pulled out of his grip.
According to court papers, Goberdan based her decision not to prosecute on the premise that Heather had been in a position to be rescued, but had turned from her rescuers.
Between February and August last year, Killerby petitioned deputy director of public prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, advocate Lungi Mahlati, and then Abrahams, but was turned down.
Staff members had tried to put out the fire with fire extinguishers to no avail.
In an affidavit, Killerby said it was highly improbable his wife would voluntarily let go of her rescuer’s hand.
“She could have been overcome by smoke, causing her to fall back out of the hands of Botha; or the wooden floor could have been on the verge of collapsing, causing her to lose balance,” Killerby said.
“Was there a proper escape route?”
Investigating officer Detective Mxoleli Matyumza said in an affidavit that when he visited the scene, he saw a gap between where the welder was welding on top and the pool chemicals underneath.
“The sparks of the welding could easily get through onto the boxes with chemicals,” Matyumza said.
Goberdan, Mahlati, Abrahams and Du Preez did not oppose the court action.