Her joy and smile left a lasting impression on everyone who knew and loved her. Now her loved ones were left mourning the loss of their mother, sister, niece and friend after her life was cut short, a case that has rattled the Caledon community.
Jenine Diane Hopley was only 38 years old when allegedly raped and brutally murdered by her boyfriend, Lee-Wayne Koert. Her body was found at Caledon Cemetery on 7 May following an ongoing search after he had reported her missing just a week before.
Hopley was an only child who formed a close bond with her aunt at a young age.
“We grew up like sisters,” said Liezel Gardiner, her aunt. “[We] always protected each other.”
Hopley’s kindness was reflected in her attitude to the success of others, according to Gardiner, who last spoke to her niece on 25 April.
“If we were celebrating something in our family, for instance, such as a 21st or matric pass, she was always happy for the person.”
Hopley loved playing with her children as any loving parent did, doing anything and everything she could for them. Amid her struggles her love for them never wavered.
“She was struggling on her own, but wasn’t shy to ask for anything,” her aunt said, “whether it was do do some work at other people’s houses or washing windows.”
What’s more, she could never be angry with others, those closest to her said. Yet, despite all her fundamental goodness she suffered a death she didn’t deserve, they said, a brutal one allegedly at the hands of someone she loved.
“She was always committed to him and she loved him,” Gardiner pointed out.
Her untimely death has left her family with questions they ultimately may never have answers to. “Why did he do it?” her aunt alleged. “She was always protecting him in front of us. She did not deserve to die like that.”
Meanwhile, community members and Caledon residents, led by the Kaapse (Cape) Forum, delivered a petition with more than 200 signatures to the Caledon Magistrates’ Court and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“The nature of [the crime allegedly committed by Koert] has sent shockwaves through the community,” it reads. “The release of the accused may cause further fear and tension [within the community].”
“Why did he lie to us knowing we loved to give her food and she would give it to him?” Gardiner asked.
Koert is expected to appear in court on Tuesday 19 May.
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