THE death of Sasha Lee Monique Shah, allegedly at the hands of her ex-lover, has left a family struggling to pick up the pieces and a mother seeing no end in sight to the pain of losing a child.
The 25-year-old’s mother, Jessica Shah, spoke to Northglen News about how the family has been coping since the death of their daughter.
Jessica said nothing can take away the grief they feel as a family.
Also read: Gateway shooting: Facebook group created in honour of slain Sasha Lee
“There’s no such thing as coping; we are not coping at all. The thing is, my child didn’t die because of an illness; she was followed and gruesomely murdered. For us, that is so hard to accept. We still expect her to walk through the door; that is how we feel right now. There is absolutely nothing that can take away the grief,” said Jessica.
Following Sasha Lee’s untimely death, Jessica created a Facebook page in a bid to keep her daughter’s memory alive.
The page with the name, ‘In loving memory of Sasha Lee Monique Shah’, is currently sitting with over 4 000 followers and has had messages of condolences pouring in since its creation on November 3.
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Jessica said she created the page for her family to share Sasha Lee’s memories.
“It was initially for me to post stuff for things like her birthday. I think, on my side, it’s not about the likes; it’s for the encouragement and prayers that have been holding us up. We truly appreciate the support and encouraging words that we’ve been getting from everybody. For us, likes don’t mean a thing – likes will not bring my child back – but the words of encouragement really mean a lot to us.
“I really thank everybody for standing by us through this difficult time and for speaking for us when we are unable to speak for ourselves – that’s what matters. The page was put up so I can honour my child because not all of our family is in Durban or South Africa, and we live-streamed the funeral because of that,” she said.
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The grieving mother said she felt the police failed her as they did not do as instructed by the magistrate.
“The magistrate had specifically asked for his firearm to be removed, but is wasn’t, and for me, that’s a big thing. The police could’ve prevented this. I feel that they are also responsible for my child’s death. We were crying for help, but nobody heard. They are not doing a job they are paid to do. There will be a legal suit against them,” she said.
The firstborn of two children and her ex-lover, Kyle Inderlall (25), were shot and killed in the underground parking lot at Gateway Theatre of Shopping.
Circumstances surrounding her death are still marred with controversy as counts leading up to the incident take centre stage.
