Hardus Lotter following a strict, disciplined lifestyle: pastor
Durban pastor Danny Israel said that Lotter had been released into his care on March 20 after maintaining good behaviour in prison.
He was released from Sevontein Prison near Pietermaritzburg where he served most of his prison term.
“He is living with me and has been released under house arrest, not parole, but he is doing very well considering he has just come out of really intense prison conditions and that sort of thing.
“He has been released for good behaviour,” Israel said.
Hardus, who was 20 at the time of the murders, was sentenced to 10 years in jail in March 2012 and became eligible for parole after serving six years.
READ: Hardus Lotter out on parole
Nicolette, who was 26 at the time, was sentenced to 12 years and will become eligible for parole after serving 10 years.
Naidoo, who was 21 at the time, received a double-life sentence and is only eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
The judge took into account the fact that the siblings had acted at the behest of Naidoo and that they had already served 44 months in jail awaiting trial.
The siblings, at the behest of Naidoo, murdered their parents Johan, 53, and Rickie Lotter, 52, on July 18, 2008.
The murders came about after Nicolette befriended Naidoo in his Shastri Park, Phoenix ,home where he apparently immediately fell to his knees with a marriage proposal at first sight of her.
Details of the manipulative and abusive relationship between Nicolette and Naidoo, who Durban High Court Judge Shyam Gyanda described in his judgment as the “mastermind” behind the crime, emerged during the trial and in the book Innocent Acts of Evil written by the siblings’ original lawyer, Danie Grundlingh.
Nicolette Lotter testified in court that Naidoo claimed God had brought them together for a purpose and that she fell under a “spell” and believed he was the third son of God.
She said she believed God was speaking through Naidoo despite his physical and emotional abuse of her, his constant foul language, laziness and gluttony.
ALSO READ: Public opinion divided over paroled parent killer Hardus Lotter
He had a love for deep-fried calamari from Ocean Basket and KFC, and he enjoyed his own home-made crab curry.
“I believed I was so lucky.
“I met all the angels (who spoke through him) and I met God.
“I thought I was blessed,” Lotter testified during the trial. She said she believed she “had to obey God” because she loved him, when she stabbed her mother to death.
Hardus strangled their father with an electrical cord.
Internationally renowned clinical psychologist Professor Lourens Schlebusch testified as an expert witness about the “highly pathological” relationship between Nicolette and Naidoo.
Judge Gyanda said during judgment that the siblings had been part of a cult, albeit there were just three members and that they had been sub-ject to “brainwashing” by Naidoo.
Israel said on Tuesday that Hardus would not be granting any interviews to the media and that he was following a strict and disciplined lifestyle under house arrest.
“He is not allowed to roam around - he has his hours that he is allowed to go out and they (the correctional services) have placed him under a strict rehabilitation programme and discipline which is different from the prison,” Israel said.
Israel said Hardus had always had an introverted personality and he was helping him to build his confidence.
“He has indicated very strongly that he does not want to speak to the media and he is under strict orders to cut them off,” Israel said.
Hardus’s sentence will be completed in 2020.
Nicolette’s attorney, Theunis Botha, said she was still serving her sentence in Westville Prison where she is studying theology.
He said he was “quite confident” that she would qualify for parole in a few years.
“I think she is doing quite well from what I have heard. She is studying through Unisa and I believe she is achieving excellent results.
“She participates in all the correctional services programmes,” Botha said.
Naidoo’s attorney, Vijay Sivakumoor, could not be reached for comment last night.
Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Thulani Mdluli had not responded to questions at the time of publication.
The Mercury