Africa-Press – South-Africa. The family of a Mossel Bay woman, Kirsty James, is reeling after a friend was arrested for her murder. The 27-year-old woman was stabbed to death at her workplace on Monday.
Kirsty was rushed to the hospital but could not be resuscitated.
Marion Bruinders, 50, said that knowing the person arrested for her daughter’s murder had visited her home for many years was “very sad for me”.
Fighting back the tears, Bruinders told News24 her daughter and her alleged murderer were apparently not seeing eye to eye in the weeks leading up to the incident.
“Kirsty would video call me every day, if she needed guidance on anything happening in her life, she would always look to me for that guidance. She had told me that she and her friend were not seeing eye to eye, and I told her that I didn’t think the friendship was healthy and warned her to be cautious and end the friendship.”
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Christopher Spies said Mossel Bay detectives arrested a 32-year-old woman on a charge of murder.
“Investigation into the incident indicates [that] the victim was at work when a woman entered the premises and accosted her. She sustained several stab wounds and was transported to hospital by ambulance where she was declared [dead],” Spies said.
“The accused appeared in the Mossel Bay Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. She was remanded in custody and the matter postponed,” police said.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the case was postponed until 31 October for a bail application.
Bruinders said when she got the call, she rushed to the scene immediately and saw her daughter laying on a stretcher, about to be moved into an ambulance.
Bruinders said:
She said she approached the friend but she apparently had no emotions or apologies.
“I asked why she [allegedly] killed Kirsty and all she could tell me was ‘go ask your daughter’. I was actually very disappointed in her response because the woman I saw on Monday was not the woman I knew back then when she would come to my house,” she said.
“But I have forgiven her for what she did to us as a family.”
It’s understood that Kirsty was an office manager at NDK Valuers and would occasionally ask her friend to come and assist if the workload was too much.
“I miss my child already. She was a beautiful soft spoken and very kind woman… Kirsty was loved by many because of the kind-natured person she was. My last few minutes with her before she passed on will forever be with me,” she added.
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Monique April has been Kirsty’s friend for many years and said she is still “shocked at what transpired”.
“She loved doing makeup, nails, and getting her eyelashes done. I will miss her smile and our talks the most. Whenever I felt down, she would message me and ask if I’m okay and then would always motivate me. I would do her nails for her and she would be so excited to have them done, those girly moments between us will definitely be missed,” said April.
Johannes Manewil said the times he spent with Kirsty was always “pleasant”.
“She was a very soft-spoken person with a beautiful smile. I was in pure shock when I learned that she is no more with us. She will be missed so much by many,” he added.
Kirsty leaves behind her sister Zoe Bruinders, her dad Eugene Duthie, and her two-year-old daughter.
According to the family, preparations for the funeral are currently under way and Kirsty will be buried in her home town next weekend.
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