Slain librarian’s father ‘trying to be strong for family’
GREAT Brak River residents are giving their slain 22-year-old librarian, Clodine Nuys, a dignified send-off.
A memorial service was held at her home last night.
It followed a wreath-laying ceremony and prayer service on Sunday, in which her family visited the site where her body was found.
Her funeral is tomorrow. Nuys’s body was found by an 11-year-old boy during a community-led search last week.
Russel Ayford, 24, has been arrested for her murder.
He appeared in a packed Great Brak River Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where he was seeking bail.
Ayford will appear in court again on February 25 for a formal bail application.
Nuys’s father, Booi Jansen, said he was trying to be strong for his family. “The funeral will be this Saturday. Just thinking that we will see her for the last time is overwhelming. We have received so much love and support, even from people we don’t know, and we are truly grateful, Jansen said.
“The small courtroom that can only accommodate about 25 people in the gallery was full, even outside.
“We still don’t know why he had to kill my child. We see no remorse. He laughed, which angered the community. We heard that for his safety, the case might be referred back to Mossel Bay,” Jansen said.
Community leader Maureen Gertze said residents had started a petition to oppose bail. “We don’t want him back in our community. As women and children, we would never feel safe
“We see no remorse. He laughed, which angered the community Booi Jansen Clodine Nuys’s father
around him.
“If he was ashamed about the crime he committed, he was not going to apply for bail. We are hoping justice will not fail the family and residents.
We are hoping the case won’t be sent to Mossel Bay because it’s far.”
Nuys will be laid to rest at a church in Great Brak River tomorrow. The service will start at her home.