Van Schoor, dressed in dark trousers and a red top, held a brief press conference before going to court to sign on and deal with his parole conditions.

He started by saying he did not know how he felt to be a free man but was "happy that the time has come to join society again".

Speaking in a deep and clear voice, he said he hoped the public would forget about his past and "not judge me on it, but judge me on my future".

He thanked the correctional service authorities for "their treatment and help with my rehabilitation and for getting to the stage where I am now able to go home".

He also thanked his daughters Jane and Annie and his friends for standing by him and visiting him over the past 12-and-a-half years.

Van Schoor said he had known Cornelius for more than five years and had been allowed contact visits from her.

When asked if Cornelius would become his fifth wife, he said that he did not know and right now just wanted to spend time with her and "take it from there".

Much of his time in prison was spent studying agriculture and working in the prison's vegetable gardens.

As far as his future was concerned, Van Schoor said he would not go back to work in the security field because he wanted to farm.

He said he had a number of options in terms of areas and what sort of farming he was contemplating.

"The list is too long," Van Schoor said.

When asked what he wanted to do on his release after the paperwork was completed, he would not say what was at the top of the list.

He said that none of the families of his victims had contacted him after he had broadcast an appeal on local radio station Link FM five years ago apologising for his actions.

"I apologise if any of my actions caused them hurt," he said.

He again asked for their forgiveness yesterday.

Among the media group to meet him was journalist-author Heidi Holland, who is on the final chapter of a book on Van Schoor titled The Colour of Murder.

As she finishes her book, Van Schoor is looking at starting a new life with Cornelius but, he said, it will be hard "because she lives in Cape Town and I am here".

After the press briefing he embraced Cornelius and the couple were locked in a long kiss.

Prior to his release, Cornelius - dressed in a charcoal pin-striped suit, dark stockings, stiletto sandals and blue-painted toenails - paced the area at the entrance to the prison talking about the family farm near Clanwilliam in Namaqualand.

Van Schoor said he had seen his daughter Sabrina on Wednesday this week to say goodbye to her.

Sabrina van Schoor is in the East London prison serving a sentence for her part in the killing of her mother and Van Schoor's second wife, Beverley.

"I saw Sabrina on Wednesday. She's very excited for me but just because I am gone the bond between us won't be broken," he said.

He was also looking forward to seeing his grandchild, Sabrina's daughter, and building a relationship with her.

He told the assembled journalists that he wanted to write a book about his whole life.

Apart from the book by Heidi Holland, a documentary team from the SABC headed by Isa Jacobson was filming a feature on him and his family.

Both Holland and Jacobson detailed how difficult the authorities had made it for them to do their jobs.