Supermom cracks son’s murder

A Kariega mother’s quest for justice and a determination to find her son’s killer finally paid off this week when a suspect was arrested.

On Friday, the man who allegedly stabbed Daniel Pirvu in the neck  abandoned his bid for bail in the Kariega magistrate’s court.

It took Hendrina Pirvu months to track down the man now charged with murder as she stood on her street corner, questioning anyone who walked past and staking out the suspect’s comings and goings.

Finally, she obtained enough evidence for the police to work with.

Daniel, 22, was stabbed in the neck outside his girlfriend’s home in Kariega on June 11. It was Daniel’s father, Costel, who rushed him to hospital.

Shaun Jordaan was finally arrested earlier this week.

While Costel struggled to come to terms with Daniel’s death, his mother refused to mourn, deciding instead to dedicate her energy to tracking down the man she believed had murdered her son in cold blood.

“I knew I had to be strong. My time to mourn would come. But first I had to be Daniel’s voice, because he no longer had one.

“For now I must fight his fight for justice,” said Pirvu, 55.

She remembers the devastating call clearly.

At 5.55am that Saturday, Costel, 47, answered the phone to hear Daniel had been stabbed.

When Pirvu heard it was a neck wound, her 30 years’ experience working at a medical facility kicked in and she knew Daniel would probably not survive.

According to witnesses, Daniel had been waiting outside his girlfriend’s house when a man walked up to him and stabbed him once in the neck before fleeing.

Daniel ran inside the house and collapsed on the floor.

Upon arrival at the girlfriend’s home in Wild Olive Street, Costel noticed bloody handprints on the walls.

“I found Daniel kneeling by his girlfriend’s bed. His hands were on his neck and there was a lot of blood,” he said.

“I held my son. I still had faith he would pull through.”

He then rushed his son to Uitenhage Provincial Hospital.

“Minutes later the doctors came out and told me there was nothing they could do.

My son was dead, and I just crashed,” he said.

Pirvu arrived at the hospital to find her distraught husband, confirming what she already suspected.

“I went to look at my son’s body. He had no defensive wounds, only the gaping wound in his neck.

“To make matters worse, Daniel was deaf. He was scheduled to get a cochlear implant later in June. He probably never even heard his attacker coming,” Pirvu said.

The next day a witness gave her Jordaan’s name.

“I knew I could not mourn and had to find this man.

“So I spent the next month standing on the corner at our house in Cannon Street, asking anyone who walked past if they knew Jordaan, or where he was.

“Every day I hit a brick wall. It took a month to get a positive lead.”

She kept recyclable waste aside for a man who came around occasionally to collect it to make a living.

Pirvu then asked him about Jordaan, and he happened to know exactly who she was talking about and told her where he worked.

She went to his place of employment, a mechanic’s workshop,  and staked it out,  even checking for alternative exits.

She took pictures and added them to the file of information she had gathered from the crime scene and witnesses.

“In October I sent all the information to the investigating officer. It had been four months and there had been no progress with the case.

“I thought maybe the little I had managed to gather would give the police something to work with.”

About a month passed before she made an appointment with the police to inquire on the progress of the case.

After the meeting she decided to write down her feelings in a letter to her son’s killer.

“The day you murdered my son, I also died. You murdered our entire family,” she wrote.

“I look for him in the morning, afternoon and night, but he’s not there. Only memories.

“I look at his pictures and cry. I’ve fought with God. Why my baby? Why, when he just found his compass and God’s way?

“Do you know how many times I’ve killed you in my mind? Don’t ever cross my path, for I will not be able to control myself.”

The letter further talks about her husband’s grief, and how they put flowers on their son’s grave every Sunday and how, despite questioning God at first, her faith had grown.

A few days after writing the letter, she received a text message from the police saying a suspect had been arrested.

Costel said the news had brought him to tears, while his wife said she could feel herself taking the first real steps towards closure.

“My prayers had been answered.

“So many people told me to leave it alone. Friends and family told me to leave it to the police and not to play detective.

“But I had to do something, and now that work has paid off.”

During his court appearance, Jordaan’s family was seated in the public gallery behind him.

They showed little emotion as his Legal Aid SA attorney announced that he was abandoning his bid for bail.

Jordaan similarly showed no emotion.

His case was postponed to January 27 for further investigation.

As Jordaan was led back to the holding cells, his family quickly left the courtroom.

Speaking outside, Pirvu said her relief was immeasurable and she was happy to know the suspected killer would remain behind bars.

“People doubted me but this is proof you cannot just sit back and let things run their course.

“I encourage all parents, or people who have lost a loved one, to get involved and do their homework. You never know when you might find that missing piece of the puzzle,” Pirvu said.

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