Sunday Times

ANNELENE PILLAY

- Taschica Pillay

A DURBAN mother’s life has been hell in the six months since her daughter was gunned down, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend.

Annelene Pillay, 27, was killed in November, moments after she left her office in Rossburgh. A video of the shooting, captured on CCTV camera, went viral.

Annelene’s estranged boyfriend, Tyrone Pillay, was arrested on suspicion of committing her murder and is due to appear in court again next month.

Annelene’s mother, Charmaine, said she got chills every time someone mentioned her daughter’s name.

“The entire family have had a tough time dealing with Annelene’s death. We constantly think about her. You feel like you didn’t do much, although she never spoke about how violent he was.

“As a mother, I blame myself for not helping her. She knew what a violent person he was,” said Charmaine.

Her daughter was doing well as a customer care controller for a shipping and logistics company. The couple had been dating for eight years and broke up eight months before the killing.

Charmaine spoke to Annelene on the phone for about 10 minutes before she was gunned down.

“She called to say she was scared. And said: ‘What if I go to my car and he is standing there?’ I told her to be strong and brave,” said Charmaine.

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