It has been three years since 90-year-old Hester Rudman was stabbed and murdered in her Kariega home, yet the killer or killers responsible for her death are still roaming the streets.
After the third anniversary of her death, Rudman’s family this week said they were still battling to come to terms with the tragedy.
Not knowing who committed the heinous crime has made it more difficult for the family to find closure.
Rudman was found murdered in her Lange Street home on November 15 2018. She had a stab wound to the chest.
A neighbour who passed by her home at about 9am that day became suspicious when she noticed Rudman’s gate and front door were open.
The neighbour called out, but there was no response.
She entered the premises to discover Rudman’s body lying at the entrance to her bedroom.
Tracy-Leigh Stephen, Rudman’s granddaughter, said that on the day of Rudman’s death she had been at Baywest Mall with her parents when her father, John Rudman, received a call to go to his mother’s home.
“Before he was summoned to her home, I had heard a news bulletin on the radio about an elderly Kariega woman who had been killed, but they did not mention names,” Stephen said.
John drove to Kariega not knowing exactly what had happened, thinking his mother might have fallen or was ill.
When he arrived at the scene, the house was cordoned off with police tape and he was not allowed to enter the premises.
A while later, a police officer informed John that his mother had been killed and they were investigating a murder.
By this time, Stephen said, she had heard a follow-up radio news bulletin.
“I was shocked to my core when I heard my gran’s name mentioned,” she said.
“For three years, November 15 has evoked a lot of emotion.
“The family cannot get closure.
“Here was a woman who fought to overcome so many obstacles and who survived many illnesses only to be murdered and ripped from our lives.
“The worst part is not knowing who is responsible for this and whether they have gone on to do the same to other people.”
Stephen said she would hate to think the police had stopped looking for the killers.
At the time of going to print, police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli had not responded to The Herald’s request for an update on the investigation .
It is believed the results of the DNA-samples taken at Rudman’s home are still outstanding.
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