‘We fought to keep her alive’
They watched their friend die, but it’s not over. Adam Dudding reports.
A women and children who witnessed the fatal stabbing of a woman during a hair and nails ‘‘pamper day’’ say they’ve been left traumatised by the event but haven’t been offered the support they need.
Carly Stewart, 36, a mother of two, died at a house in Te Atatu, west Auckland, on October 15. A woman, also 36, has been charged with her murder and has interim name suppression.
The stabbing took place at a gathering of about nine women, most of whom have known each other since primary school. Yesterday several of the women gathered at Stewart’s graveside at Waikumete Cemetery to remember a friend they described as strong, vivacious, caring and independent.
But they say they’ve been let down by police and by Victim Support.
One woman said after giving a statement to police on the night of the stabbing she was given Victim Support’s number, but no one has followed up on her requests for help. ‘‘I feel traumatised by witnessing what I had seen.’’
Until the unexpected attack, the day had been laid back, with a beautician doing their hair and nails as they chatted. ’’It was a day of talking.’’
We talked to her, saying don't go. She kept talking all the way until the police got there.
Now, she is unable to sleep and has taken time off her cleaning job. She said she and her friends had ‘‘tried our hardest’’ to keep Stewart alive.
‘‘We talked to her, saying don’t go. She kept talking all the way until the police got there. They came and said get out, so we went outside. And then we heard she’d passed.’’
Stewart’s friend Henrietta Cameron said three children who had witnessed the death still hadn’t been offered counselling.
The woman who had hosted the party is effectively homeless. At first she couldn’t go home because her rented house was a crime scene, and she is now unwilling to live there because of the memories it holds. She and her children have been staying with friends and at hotels.
Cameron said on the night of Stewart’s death the host had been so upset she couldn’t give a statement to police, yet no one from police had checked that she and her children had somewhere to stay. Another witness to the stabbing was admitted to hospital two days after Stewart’s funeral.
Six of the women at the ‘‘pamper day’’ knew each other from their time together at Glenavon primary school.
Cameron said Stewart, who worked for a recruitment company, had a flair for drawing and painting and was a keen gym-goer. ‘‘Her ambitions were to have a good life for her two boys.‘‘
Last night, Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Parmenter offered the women his cellphone number to call him at any time.
‘‘This was a tragic and traumatic event which would have shocked all of those who were present,’’ he said.
‘‘The party host attended the police station on the evening to make a statement but, understandably, left of her own volition to look after her children. The party host told police she had somewhere to go – an address in west Auckland.
‘‘We will be contacting her to ensure she is safe and has the support she needs.
‘‘Victim Support was engaged for the adults present. The children have been referred to CYF for their assistance. We would like to reiterate police do not want anyone to undergo any further stress.’’
A Victim Support spokesperson said it was looking into the matter urgently ‘‘to ensure that the victims involved are being connected with the support needed’’.