Cape Town - In a heart-wrenching account of loss and regret, a South African mother has shared her sorrow over the murder of her son in New Zealand, wishing instead they never bought into the promise of a “safer life abroad”.
Luke Smith, 21, recently moved with his parents Natasha and Brian from Cape Town to Upper Hutt in Wellington, where they planned to start anew, away from the crime faced daily in the Mother City.
However, rather than finding the safety and stability they sought, they now confront a tragedy that has shattered their dreams.
Now they are battling to return his body to Cape Town for a burial after Luke was killed following an early-morning altercation in which he was viciously assaulted.
According to a grief-stricken Natasha, the day started like any other.
“October 6, that morning Luke went to the gym and I went shopping.
“We returned and he and his friend who was visiting from South Africa decided to go to town. I can still see him walking out the door. They dressed smart in case they would go to the club. Later in the evening, Luke called to say they would be home soon, before the public transport stops, but that never happened, because the next call I got was from the police to say my son is in hospital.”
Natasha says she learnt that Luke had been viciously assaulted in Courtenay Place.
“We saw a video where you can see Luke and the guy speaking, then as my son walks away, the guy who is so much bigger than him, comes from behind and knocks him.
“Luke falls to the ground, where he broke his nose, bleeding from his ears, mouth and nose. We later learnt this guy does professional boxing.”
After being hooked on life support for a few hours, Luke’s machine was switched off.
“The amount of support we received from the South African, African and New Zealand community was so overwhelming, the hospital was flooded with people who came to pay their respects.
“Our home is constantly full of people. Luke really made a big impact on so many people’s lives in such a short time. It speaks to the type of person he was.”
Luke was supposed to go for a job screening today, in order for him to study further in New Zealand.
“He had so many dreams and aspirations, now that was stripped away from him. That person also took away the opportunity for us to become grandparents, he broke our family.”
The family spent most of their lives living in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, before moving to Strandfontein and then Gordon’s Bay in their last six years in the country.
They said they are still deciding on whether to return to South Africa.
“At the moment our main thing is getting Luke buried and making sure he receives justice.”
Natasha says they will return to court on October 21, where the assault charges are likely to change to homicide. Detective Tim Leich, from the Wellington Criminal Investigations Branch, confirmed the case against the 29-year-old accused is now a homicide inquiry.
The cost of returning Luke’s body to South Africa is around R320000, and a fundraiser has been launched to support the family.
A fundrasier has been launched to help his family.
Anyone who would like to donate can do so by visiting givealittle.co.nz/cause/justiceforluke
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