On Wednesday, 5 February, the Northsider paid a visit to the home of the late Magdalena van Staden, who sadly lost her life in a senseless shooting at Eagle’s Landing Shopping Centre on Friday, 17 January.
Upon entering the Van Staden household one cannot help but notice the deafening silence and the void left by a loving mother and wife who had kept her family happy and driven.
Read the initial article here:
https://roodepoortnorthsider.co.za/313233/woman-shot-cold-blood-honeydew-shopping-centre/
Herman and Magdalena were married for 25 years, and 29 January would have been their 26th wedding anniversary.
“My wife left a very nice legacy – she was very sentimental and kept everything. She knew exactly where everything was,” said husband Herman van Staden.
Magdalena’s funeral service was held in Randburg on 26 January at the same church and venue where the Van Stadens got married years before. Judged by the number of people who attended the service it was evident that wherever Magdalena went, she had made a positive impact on people, and nobody had anything bad to say about her.
When asked how he and the kids were coping, Herman said they were trying to keep busy, but the evenings were difficult as soon as the day’s hustle quieted down. “Everything is a constant reminder of Magdalena,” he said.
The couple has two children who are both studying in Cape Town. On that fateful night Magdalena had just returned from visiting them in Cape Town. Herman reflected on the night of the incident, and said he remembered two men approaching their vehicle from opposite sides, and prevented him and his wife from closing their doors.
While struggling with their attackers he heard a shot being fired. At first he thought it came from security officers rushing to their rescue, but a few seconds later another shot was fired, which hit his wife in the back of her head and killed her. “My wife did not suffer, and she was killed instantaneously. As Christians we know she is in Heaven,” said a very emotional Herman.
According to Herman, his wife ran their family trust and now with her gone, he needs to find method in all the madness and figure out how she had managed everything because she was running things on her own.
“I will always long for my wife, and my children will always long for their mother because she was such a big part of their lives; she would call them three or four times a day. I miss her big eyes. I loved her eyes and personality. I met my wife on a blind date when we were students. We clicked immediately that night and never looked back,” Herman said.
The Van Stadens have always been a tight-knit family and had plans to move back to Cape Town and live their lives happily ever after.
Herman said, “She grew up in a Christian home and kept us intact by practicing the same principles. I’m glad my children didn’t see their mother die or see her lifeless body just lying there.”
Because Magdalena loved horses and horse riding, the family decided that her ashes would be scattered on one of the polo fields she loved so dearly.
