Our wonderful, caring daughter just wanted to settle in Ireland & make a new life
»»Mum collapses after arriving at funeral home »»Hundreds pay respects to murdered student, 24
THE grief-stricken parents of Jastine Valdez yesterday told how their “wonderful and caring” daughter was keen to settle in Ireland and make a new life here.
They broke their silence on the death of their only child as she was waked at a funeral home in Co Wicklow before her body is flown back to her native Philippines for burial.
The 24-year-old was strangled to death a week ago by drink and drugfuelled Mark Hennessy after she was bundled into a Nissan Qashqai near her home in Enniskerry.
The 41-year-old psycho – shot dead in his car when cornered by gardai the following day – had callously dumped her body at Puck’s Castle in Rathmichael, South Dublin.
Speaking about their daughter in a statement released yesterday by the Irish Consulate of the Philippines, dad Danilo and mum Teresita said: “We would like to thank all the Irish people and the Philippine community living in Ireland for their support, compassion, and sympathy during this tragic time for us.
“It has been of some comfort knowing how deeply our beautiful daughter Jastine has affected the people of Ireland.
“Our daughter’s plans were to settle in Ireland, buy a house here and make a new life.
“She is a fun-loving, wonderful, caring daughter and friend.
“She is always in our hearts and in the hearts of the people of Ireland.”
And at her daughter’s wake last night, Jastine’s devastated mother collapsed as hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects to the murdered student.
COMFORTED
An ambulance was called to Murphy’s Funeral Home in Bray as distraught Teresita fell ill.
A source said: “She collapsed at about 5.30pm and an ambulance arrived 15 minutes later.
“When she arrived Tess’s knees appeared to buckle from the strain of her grief. She cried uncontrollably and was comforted near the entrance.”
Jastine was laid out in a white blazer in an open coffin, with a pink scarf around her neck.
Dozens of bouquets of flowers were placed underneath the casket by a steady stream of sobbing mourners.
Eileen Coogan, in her early 40s, and her nineyear-old son Alex paid their respects just after 5pm.
The Bray woman said: “I just heard this morning that she was going to be laid out here and I wanted to come down and pay my respects.
“I don’t know the family but it’s a terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to them.”
Hundreds of friends and relatives also Jastine Valdez paid their respects to Jastine and sympathised with her devastated parents yesterday.
Teresita, who passed out several times when she saw her daughter’s badly bruised body at the morgue for the first time on Tuesday, and dad Danilo looked emotionally drained as they arrived after 5pm.
They had been expected to arrive at 2pm to meet mourners but it is believed the turmoil of recent days was one of the reasons close friends arrived to meet well-wishers earlier instead.
The couple, who moved here in 1985 from the province of Nueva Vizcaya, were joined by dozens of people from the Filipino community at the funeral home Mourners at funeral home in Bray, Co Wicklow
for a private Mass at 7pm. There will be another opportunity for friends and members of the public to sympathise with Jastine’s parents and pray for her at the same location today between 2pm and 6pm.
It is understood her body will be flown home to the Philippines early next week ahead of her funeral.
Her heartbroken parents’ statement also praised all those who helped in the investigation following the