Three days after celebrating their first wedding anniversary, Kezia McAlpine lost the love of her life, her husband Kevin, to a violent murder.
Initial article: Police on manhunt for broker’s killers
The 29-year-old insurance broker’s body was found in the boot of his car on the night of 26 May.
The News sat down with the first-time mother-to-be, who told us they had known each other for over a decade, and first started dating in high school.
After not seeing each other for years, they met up again in December 2013 and like they say, the rest was history.
Six months after they started dating again, Kevin took Kezia up a mountain close to God’s Window in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, where he asked her to marry him. Their view was the famous ‘Drie Rondawels’ mountain tops.
“It was amazing, he even planned a horse-ride for us up the mountain. I remember how his horse kept falling behind, stopping to graze a bit,” she said laughing.
A week after the romantic proposal, the couple set a date and 10 months later Kezia walked down the aisle and became Mrs Kevin McAlpine on 23 May 2015.
A few months after their wedding day, the couple sat at a local car wash and decided that it was time to have a baby.
“Kevin really wanted to have a baby.”
On holiday, exactly seven months after they tied the knot, the couple discovered that they were expecting their first baby.
“When I suspected I might be pregnant, we went and bought a pregnancy test and took it first thing in the morning. I came out of the bathroom shaking. I asked Kevin if the lines on the test can disappear after a few minutes. He picked me up and held me.”
A week later, while still on holiday, Kevin had already bought a crib (which he found online) for the baby.
“He really spoiled me with love and attention and did everything with me.”
One of the things Kezia misses most about Kevin is the tea he made her in the mornings. She said the mornings are the hardest for her.
“He was my gentle giant and he always made me feel safe and secure.”
She described Kevin as a sports fanatic and said she’d learned a lot from him.
“He was really fond of Superbru, an online sports fixture game, and he was really proud when I started playing it by myself.”
Kezia keeps strong by focusing on the good times they had together, which are carrying her through this hard time.
“It is just by the grace of God that I am this strong. I struggle with everything, we did everything together. I know the Lord is holding me tight. This is not easy, but I have to stay strong for my son.
“I just want to set one thing straight – Kevin was not naked when his body was discovered, as reported by other publications.”
Kevin McAlpine will be laid to rest on Friday 3 June, at a nearby church.
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