Charlize Theron’s tragic past has been unearthed in a statement she gave to the police in her native South Africa. The witness statement has been published through a book about Charlize Theron authored by Chris Karsten. In the incident Charlize Theron was found weeping under a blanket after her mum shot her drunk dad dead.

Here’s Charlize’s witness statement: “Someone hammered on the kitchen door. I told my mom that it was my dad. “My father said he would shoot us both dead with his shotgun.

“My mom said she was afraid he would kill us. The next moment I heard a number of shots. Then I heard her screaming.

“When I went into the passage, I saw my father’s brother standing. My mom was sitting in a corner of the bedroom.

“My mother wept and said, ‘Charlize, I’ve shot them’. Then I saw the body of my father.” Danie was wounded in the hand.

Charlize’s dad Charles and his brother Danie had returned to the family farm near Johannesburg after rowing with Charlize’s mother, Gerda earlier that night.

Her mother was never prosecuted over the shooting. Charlize, now 32, refused to describe the night’s events of 16 years ago.