SECUNDA – Ms Corrienne Tesner (62) was murdered in her granny flat behind her children’s house in Hodgson Street on Saturday, 23 February.
This former receptionist at Highveld Park High School was still in her pajamas when she was stabbed to death.
Her daughter, Ms Cathrynne Pelser, discovered the body hours later, covered under some blankets.
Ms Pelser and her 15-year-old son Taille share the main house with her brother and sister-in-law, Mr Darryn and Ms Caitlin Pelser and their two young children, Nikolai (6) and Dimitri (1).
They built on a granny flat when Ms Tesner was diagnosed with diabetes and retired from the school about three years ago. They celebrated her 62nd birthday in December.
Ms Tesner had her own gate remote and was very independent.
The family did however, make sure to enjoy dinner together every night.
According to Mr Pelser, he left for work at 1am on Saturday morning, but did not notice anything peculiar.
“Mom’s car is usually parked in the garage and I did not notice anything amiss,” said Mr Pelser.
He returned home just before 11am that morning, but soon left again.
His wife, a local hairdresser, left for work at about 8am.
“Caitlin noticed the sliding door of the flat was slightly open and that the Chev was gone, but also thought nothing of it, because mom often opened up the flat for fresh air,” explained Ms Cathrynne Pelser who was at home most of the day.
She popped her head around the door of her mother’s flat sometime during the morning, but also did not see Ms Tesner.
“The place looked messy, but I recalled my mother telling me her cleaning lady was unable to come to work in the week and they arranged that she would come on a Saturday.
“I did not suspect a thing,” she said.
The Pelsers prepared for a braai in the afternoon and tried to contact their mother on both her cell phones, but the one was off and the other remained unanswered.
“It was already around 5pm when I decided to check if the domestic worker had left, but found the flat still in a mess with the bedding on the floor. I asked Darryn just to also go take a look,” Ms Cathrynne Pelser told Ridge Times.
Mr Pelser looked around the flat and discovered blood stains on the dark bed linen.
“My mother is a diabetic and I was very worried. I went to the main house and called Cathrynne.”
Ms Pelser made it back to her mother’s flat before her brother and scooped the bedding off the floor.
“That was when I found her. She was already icy cold,” explained Ms Pelser.
“Some things one cannot un-see,” said Ms Pelser.
Brother and sister both described their mother as a woman with an amazing sense of humour who always saw a way to make them laugh.
“She was loved and known by so many people. She made friends wherever she went. When you went with mom to the shop, you ended up greeting half of the town,” said Mr Pelser.
He was still reeling from the shock of what had happened to their close-knit family.
“I thought we were fairly safe in this neighbourhood. The street in front of our house is always active with traffic,” he said.
They suspect that the murderer scaled their high garden wall after Mr Pelser left for work.
According to Ms Cathrynne Pelser, Taille is taking it hard, because he had a special bond with his grandmother.
“She was a wonderful granny who doted on her grandchildren” she said.
“We have not yet told Nikolai what had happened. We think its best to seek professional help,” said Mr Pelser.
Capt Bettina Zondo, spokesman for Secunda Police Station, said a post mortem must still be done to determine the extent of Ms Tesner’s injuries.
She confirmed that Ms Tesner was stabbed multiple times and that there were cuts to her throat.
“The detectives are following up on several leads,” said Capt Zondo. This includes possible sightings of the stolen silver Chevrolet Spark with registration DMY 203 MP.
Ms Tesner’s television and DVD player, cell phones and handbag have been stolen and the laptop is still unaccounted for.
