A mother of six was found dead one mile from where she lived. She is suspected to have been raped and then murdered.
Judith “Judy” Joseph, 56, of Swan Turn, Soesdyke/Linden Highway was discovered at about 04:41h on Monday morning outside a small shop in the village where a Mother’s Day “get-together” was held on Sunday evening.
According to reports, the woman left the shop at about 12:30h for home. Villagers and the shop owner are shocked by the way the woman met her demise.
At the murder scene, the woman’s daughter, Orlene Joseph struggled to remain calm as she explained the last time she saw her mother was on Sunday evening when she left the ‘party’. She disclosed that on Monday morning at about 04:15h, she received a telephone call from the shop owner informing her that something was wrong with her mother and she should come. “When I reached, I see my mother lying on the ground lifeless,” the woman stated.
She said that blood was oozing from her mother’s mouth, her blouse was lifted above her breast, her pants were around her knees and her underwear was askew. The distraught daughter explained that her mother lived across the road and they were at a mother’s day get-together at the shop which was partly organised by her mother.
Meanwhile, the shop owner, Felicia Pierre, who discovered the body explains that she had a get-together for Mother’s Day but the party ended at about 23:05h on Sunday. She said the circumstances surrounding Joseph’s death are unclear, but was certain that the act was not committed at her business place.
“I discovered the body at about 4:00h and immediately made contact with the family and police.” She disclosed that the party she hosted was attended by primarily family members.
Pierre, who was a friend of Joseph for the past 19 years, stated that Joseph’s relatives were at the party but left her behind. “She was sleeping so I woke her up and asked her if she wasn’t going home and she said yes. I also told her that if she walks fast enough, she will catch up with her daughters.
I watched her walking through the track to go home and I went to bed,” Pierre added.
Pierre said she woke up on Monday morning and went into the shop as usual to collect groceries to cook and went back upstairs. When she later came back down, she saw someone lying in front of the shop. “It was dark, so I pitched the torch light when I realised it was Aunty Judy,” she said.
She claimed that she did not hear any unusual sounds during Sunday night, so she believes that the woman might have been raped and killed while she was on her way home and dumped at the shop.
The woman’s body was taken to the Lyken Funeral Home to await a post-mortem examination. She leaves to mourn her six children; 21 grandchildren, nine siblings and other relatives.
