Durban – A Chatsworth couple and their daughter and grandson who were attacked with a meat cleaver and bush knife in their rented Westcliff home have suffered another blow.
Their son, with whom they had moved in with to get over their horror ordeal, was found dead in a car under mysterious circumstances.
Neville Melvin Govender, 37, a driver, died on Saturday and his devastated family don’t know what killed him. They are hoping the post-mortem will give them some answers.
After returning home from work Govender went out with his two friends to a night club on Umgeni Road. The friends allegedly left Govender alone and went into the club. When they returned an hour later they found him dead.
His parents, Allan, 57, and Reena, 54, as well as his sister Denise, 30, and her 7-year-old son, Sohail, were attacked in their home earlier this month when Denise’s estranged husband, Shalendra Singh, went on a rampage.
Singh, 37, slit his throat on the property and died in hospital. Denise sustained injuries to her neck, back, hands and head, while her son’s neck and hands were slashed.
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Allan’s face and hands were also injured and his wife bore injuries to her ear and body. Denise’s sister Geraldine and her two daughters escaped unharmed.
Since the bloody ordeal, the family has been in and out of RK Khan Hospital.
“Denise constantly has headaches and suffers with blurred vision. She is in unbearable pain and has been re-admitted to hospital for a CT scan,” said Geraldine.
She added that their dad had lost feeling in his left hand. “The tendons have snapped. My father needs an operation.”
Geraldine said her mother had no sensation on her ear and left hand; Sohail was recovering.
The family could no longer bear living in the home so they moved out and had been living with Neville.
“We are sharing the one-bedroom outbuilding in Chatsworth with his wife and two children.
"He was our only support and now he is gone,” said Geraldine. “We are shattered.
Apart from the emotional trauma, Geraldine said they were now suffering financially.
“Things are difficult. My father, a controller for a logistics company, was the sole breadwinner and is now unable to work. He was not paid because he was away from work.
“Our lives have been turned upside down and we don’t know what to do.
"We are just rallying together to support one another and are praying this nightmare will soon be over.”