Cape Town – The family of slain Lambert’s Bay mother Liezel Toontjies are struggling to come to terms with her murder.
Toontjies, 28, was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend on Mother’s Day during a domestic dispute, police said.
“The suspect (in his 30s) is expected to appear in court for murder,” police confirmed.
The family yesterday spoke about how they were feeling.
“It is very tough for us, we are still not functioning properly but we have to carry on,” family spokesperson Esmaralda van Rheenen said.
“All the prayer and support is carrying us through. Her parents are very old, so her father is just quiet and her mother is taking it day by day.”
Toontjies leaves behind her children, who are aged between 16 and one.
Her murder on Mother’s Day also marked her brother’s birthday, and was mere weeks before the baby would turn two.
“After 12pm, someone came to call my boyfriend, her brother, to say she’s laying in the yard by another auntie’s house. He did not want to see his sister like that so I went.
“When I got there I saw her laying. I knelt trying to speak to her saying ’it's me, stay with me’, but I felt her pulse started getting slower.
’’Her 7-year-old then came up behind me hanging on me and I realised I had to get up and take him away because I could not let him see his mother this way. The police then came,“ said Van Rheenen.
“The entire community is sad. We still don’t know exactly what happened, all the friend said is that it was him.
’’We assume it was an argument because the friend also mentioned Liezel kept smacking him away saying leave me alone, then he grabbed her arm, then she fell. By the time we found her it was done.”
According to Van Rheenen, the boyfriend had been abusive to Toontjies in the past and had been in prison for murder before.
The couple had four children. Toontjies was described as someone with a vibrant energy who loved kids.
She will be buried on Saturday next week.
Cape Times