The mother of two Olympic athletes is facing a 15-year prison sentence after being accused of forging her deceased husband’s will and trying to defraud his estate of millions, says a Saturday Star report. Adelene Toxopeus (58), mother of Olympic marathon runner Irvette van Zyl and mother-in-law of Olympic hurdler LJ van Zyl, has been accused of forging several documents to swindle millions from the estate of her late husband, Pieter.

According to the charge sheet for her fraud, uttering and forgery case at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Johannesburg, Pieter Toxopeus, a wealthy businessman, died in a car crash in 2009. In his original will and testament, dating to 1998, Pieter divided his estate among his three adult children. After marrying Adelene in March 2000, he prepared a codicil, granting his new wife the rights to his Muldersdrift home on his death.

However, the state alleges that three years after Pieter’s death Adelene forged a new codicil, supposedly drafted in 2003, insisting that his Momentum Life policy also be left to her. Five months after the new codicil was handed over to the estate’s executor, Adelene is alleged to have forged another codicil – this time granting her millions of rand from Pieter’s estate.

Full Saturday Star report (subscription needed)