Durban - How did a “sweet and humble” Durban girl become involved with one of the world’s most-wanted and dangerous criminals?
This was the question on many minds this week when former Effingham Heights resident Marissa Christopher, 37, was denied bail after she was arrested for allegedly trying to orchestrate a prison escape for Czech convict, Radovan Krejcir.
Despite her recent claim to fame Christopher is also known as South Africa’s first Indian Playmate and is the daughter of struggle veteran Russell Christopher.
She was arrested last month while visiting Krejcir with their 2-year-old daughter at Zonderwater Prison in Cullinan near Pretoria.
She was denied bail on Thursday after being declared dishonest and a flight risk. It is alleged that Christopher was going to facilitate payments to prison officials and a group of rifle-wielding gunmen to storm the prison and allow Krejcir to escape.
It is believed that the plot was initially planned for March. However, an undercover police unit, where officers posed as the guns-for-hire, stopped the violent escape plan and arrested five suspects, including Christopher.
Krejcir, a career criminal, was once one of the richest people in the Czech Republic.
As a fugitive, he lived for a while in the Seychelles before coming to South Africa.
Nearly three years ago he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and attempted murder in South Africa. He was found guilty of attempted murder, assault and kidnapping a year ago and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His other trials are still in progress.
In court recently Christopher testified that she had broken up with Krejcir three or four months ago, but despite this, continued to visit him until the day of her arrest.
This week her father, a former Umkhonto weSizwe leader, distanced himself from his daughter and said that he had “no comment”.
When asked if his 2-year-old grandchild was in his custody, he did not respond. Meanwhile, some of Christopher’s former school friends who attended Effingham Secondary School described her as a “humble, sweet and respectful” girl. They said they were in disbelief about her actions.
“She was always a pleasant person and was in a committed relationship throughout her high-school career. I remember Marissa and her boyfriend very distinctly. They were always together after school. I also remember her as being the pretty and popular girl at school. But what I always admired about her is that even though she was popular, she was never nasty,” said one friend, who did not want to be named.
Another friend who also requested anonymity, said: “Marissa came from a good family. Many people knew her family because Effingham is a close-knit community. Her father was well known due to his political links and her mother was known to be a hard-working woman. Even when Marissa became a playboy model, we were shocked about this but never judged her. We knew her as a different person... this did not mean that she was promiscuous. She is beautiful and wanted to show off her body. It is sad that all of this is happening to her. It seems as though it was just a case of keeping bad company.”
It emerged in court that Christopher’s mother, Priya, had a good relationship with her grandchild and that she would be a good alternative caregiver.
The Sunday Tribune’s sister newspaper, The Star reported that after Christopher was denied bail, she whispered “I love you” to her teary-eyed mother and cousin sitting in the court gallery before calmly walking down to the cells beneath the court on Thursday. It also reported that Krejcir has been transferred back to the maximum security prison at Kokstad pending his next half a dozen court cases.
Sunday Tribune