The daughter of a man whose disappearance became one of the biggest mysteries in the West Country, back in 2010, has spoken for the first time about her sadness at not having her father around.
Courtney Van Lill Waller was had just turned six when her dad simply vanished from the face of the Earth one morning back in March 2010. Now, having just turned 21 and still with no answers or closure on what happened to her father, she has joined an renewed appeal made by police for any new information about what happened to Donavan Van Lill.
Donavan was a 29-year-old man who had come from South Africa with Courtney’s mum Victoria Waller and settled in Chippenham, Wiltshire. While they had split up when Courtney was little, Donavan was still very much part of her life.
Then, one day in early March, he simply disappeared, and no trace of him has ever been found. He hasn’t used his bank cards, contacted his family back in South Africa or ever got in touch with his daughter.
“It’s very hard because when someone close passes away, you get to grieve as you grow,” Courtney told ITV West Country. “But I haven’t been able to do that. It’s constantly recurring to me, even as an adult, when I’ve gone to work, people say to me, ‘Are you his daughter?’ It’s like you can’t escape it,” she added.
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What happened to Donavan sparked a furore in the close-knit town of Chippenham, and across North Wiltshire. A lot of people knew him. He worked at the Olympiad Leisure Centre, played rugby for Corsham, the next town along the A4, and his disappearance was noted within an hour, and started a massive search and a series of public appeals.
Soon, police attention was focussed on Martin Sugden, a swimming teacher and colleague at the Olympiad Leisure Centre. Sugden lived in a farm outside Chippenham, and police said Donavan’s phone was there on the morning he disappeared.
Massive searches got underway, and Sugden was arrested, charged and put on trial for Donavan’s murder, even though no trace of Donavan or his body was ever found. The trial jury heard a mass of circumstantial evidence about Sugden but also speculation about Donavan and his life – he had a new girlfriend from eastern Europe, and it was claimed he had upset people and needed to disappear.
In the end, the jury acquitted Sugden completely, finding him ‘not guilty’ of murder. There was enough doubt about Donavan himself, and whether or not he was actually dead or had just skipped town and gone off to start a new life somewhere.
But since then, Donavan has not been found anywhere, alive or dead. It is something that affects Courtney every day – particularly because in North Wiltshire, his name still triggers memories and recognition.
“People will talk to me about him like he’s not my dad and they’ll speak to me about it like it’s like something you watch on telly, like a Netflix documentary,” she said.
She does remember him, even though she was barely six years old when she last saw him. “I remember he was very funny,” she said. “I’ve got a box with all the pictures that we’ve got of my dad. And then my mum kept things like the last ‘Chloe’ he bought me. We’ve got a bottle of his aftershave. I made him birthday cards and we’ve kept them,” she added.
“It makes me sad that he’ll never be able to walk me down the aisle. And he’s never met my partner that I’m with. And that he’s never going to see my children. He’s never going to see me become an adult. And it makes me sad and also makes me angry,” she added.
Courtney’s mother Victoria, who married Donavan but was separated from him by the time he disappeared, said it was ‘devastating’. “It’s the worst thing to have to deal with and to tell a child that they’re never going to see a parent again is devastating,” she said.
“But in our situation, I had to tell a six-year-old that she would never see her dad again. I had to navigate all the situations of people telling her things, things in the press, people at school saying things to her, which is very difficult,” she added.
“But I couldn’t ever give her any answers. And 15 years on, I still haven’t been able to give her any answers. And it’s still just as devastating and difficult and it’s like perpetual grief because she’s never been able to know this is what’s happened, never been able to have a funeral, never been able to kind of move past what’s happened,” she added.
Police have renewed an appeal about information about Donavan, and hope that the 15th year anniversary of his disappearance might throw up some new clues. “All outstanding missing person cases remain open and are revisited periodically in case new evidence comes to light,” said Det Insp Debbie Hatch, from Wiltshire Police. “We remain committed to finding out what happened to Donavan.
“Donavan was a reliable employee, so when he didn’t show up, and his colleagues were unable to reach him on his mobile phone they were immediately concerned.
“He was a physically fit young man, who enjoyed his work and playing rugby for Corsham. The previous investigations have not uncovered any reason as to why he would have voluntarily left Chippenham without telling his friends and family of his intentions.
“I believe that the local community of Chippenham holds key information that might help us understand what happened to Donavan and urge anyone with information no matter how small or insignificant you think the information is to speak to us.
“Your information could prove vital to our investigation and help provide Donavan’s family with much needed closure,” she added.
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