Horrendous ordeal for Kannemeyer family

A family torn apart — children losing both parents at once and grandchildren left with so many questions that can never be answered.

The conviction and sentencing of Colin “Junior” Kannemeyer on Tuesday has left the family with mixed feelings.

Shortly after Kannemeyer was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for murdering his wife Cheryl-Ann, their eldest son Dexter took to Facebook and asked for privacy and respect.

“To everyone in my inbox and commenting on these news publications ... you will never understand the abnormal situation my siblings and I find ourselves in,” he wrote.

“Not only were we robbed of our dearest mother, but we were also robbed of a father.

“We have forgiven our dad, that’s what our mother would’ve wanted. We will love him through his sentence. Please respect us.

“No amount of years will do justice to my mom’s life, but hopefully this 25-year sentence will bring us as a family some sort of healing and closure.

“Please continue keeping us in your prayers.”

Instead of watching their parents grow old together, enjoying their twilight years, the children and grandchildren will have to deal with the pain and loss of losing both parents, spending family holidays and sharing life’s milestones without them.

And doing so while knowing it was their father who caused them to be in this situation.

This is the tragedy that is not often spoken about — families who have lost a loved one in the most violent way, or having to contend with their feelings when a close relative has committed the most horrendous crime.

With it comes the pressure — be it on themselves or from the community around them — to forgive when they may not necessarily be ready to do so.

The road ahead will be difficult for the Kannemeyer family.

Our hope is that they will take comfort in knowing that justice will be served for Cheryl-Ann while attempting to heal as they face the next chapter of their lives without their parents.