Mystery behind dad, child hanging

A 27-year-old father allegedly killed his young daughter then himself after an altercation with his partner.

A 27-year-old father allegedly killed his young daughter then himself after an altercation with his partner.

Published Jun 26, 2012

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“They were happily married. They spent the morning together as usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”

Desmond Kuppen, a spokesman for the family of a woman whose husband hanged their four-year-old-daughter and then himself over the weekend, said the family was devastated by the deaths.

Dashen Vandiar, 27 and Kellita Vandiar, 4, were found hanging in their home in Woodhurst, Durban on Saturday night. Their home was situated on a common property that they shared with Kuppen's mother.

The bodies were discovered by Vandiar's wife Alisha, who attended a bridal shower in uMhlanga on Saturday afternoon, Kuppen told IOL on Tuesday.

He said police reports that there was a domestic dispute prior to the incident were inaccurate.

“They had a normal marriage. He (Dashen) never drank or did drugs. They were a happily married couple.”

According to Kuppen, Vandiar waited until Alisha left to attend the bridal shower, before using a rope from his bakkie and a rope from Kuppen's tool shed to tie a noose around the child's neck and himself in a passage way of their house.

He said Alisha, who is a nurse, walked into their home at about 10pm and discovered Dashen and Kellita's lifeless bodies.

“Alisha first cut down Kellita's body and checked for a pulse, but found that her baby was already dead.

“She still rushed Kellita to hospital but Kellita was pronounced dead on arrival,” he said.

Kuppen said Alisha was still in shock over the incident but appeared to be strong.

“There'll be a lot of public speculation over what happened and a lot of people wanting to blame Alisha or Dashen. We're not blaming either of them.”

Kuppen said Vandiar did not leave a suicide note or indicate through his behaviour that he was depressed or experiencing hardship.

He said his last interaction with Vandiar was on Friday evening and nothing about his demeanour seemed out of the ordinary.

“He worked for me for the last year-and-a-half. I knew him well. He was just a normal guy.”

A funeral for the father and daughter would be held on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, police are still investigating the cause of the incident. - IOL

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