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Cape Town honeymoon murder: family tribute to Â«beautifulÂ» bride

16 November 2010 03:15 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The family of Anni Dewani, the wife killed on honeymoon after being carjacked in Cape Town, have paid tribute to the "wonderful and beautiful" bride, APA reports quoting â€œTelegraphâ€.
The 28-year-old part-time model and her husband, Shrien, 30, who runs a multi-million pound luxury carehome business in Bristol, were ambushed as their taxi drove towards a fashionable nightspot in a township.
It is believed that Mrs Dewani was shot dead. Police are awaiting the results of a post mortem, which will confirm whether there was also a sexual element to the killing.
Detectives are investigating whether the couple were forced to withdraw large amounts of cash at gunpoint.
Mr Dewani, who police said was bundled out of the taxi unharmed before his wife was driven away and murdered, was being cared for by his parents last night and said to be â€œin a terrible stateâ€.
Hundreds of people signed up a memorial page on Facebook yesterday to leave tributes.
Ami Denborg posted: â€œMy dearest little sister. I will miss you so much. Its so hard to imagine a life without you being apart of it. Your laugh, your smile your style, everything about you is so wonderful. I love you. May you rest in peace.â€
Guests at the couple’s wedding, a fortnight ago in Mumbai, said that what happened was â€œunimaginableâ€.
Shivani Pala said: "You looked beautiful on that day and I remember the way you smiled at me and what you said.
"The wedding was perfect and both families hosted us so well which is reflective of what wonderful people you all are.
"We mourn the loss of a life cut short so tragically and pray that god gives strength to Shrien, your mother, father, brothers, sisters and both the Hindocha and Dewani families.â€
Mrs and Mrs Dewani had eaten dinner in the Winelands region on Saturday and were on their way back to an exclusive hotel when they asked the taxi driver to drive through one of the cityâ€™s townships, Gugulethu.
It is believed they were trying to find Mzoliâ€™s Meat, an outdoor barbeque restaurant and bar which calls itself an â€œauthentic taste of township lifeâ€ and was recommended last year by TV chef Jamie Oliver.
But their vehicle, a Volkswagen Sharan, was stopped by armed men who threw out the driver and kidnapped the couple in the back of the car.
Mr Dewani was apparently bundled out, unharmed, in the township of Khayelitsha and flagged down help.
It is understood that Mrs Dewani was shot three times in the chest. Her body was found in the abandoned people carrier hours later.
Police were said to be confident they were closing the net on the killers. Albert Fritz, the regional minister for community safety, said they had â€œincredibly strong leadsâ€ in the case.
However the case has renewed the debate about crime and safety in South Africa and popular tourist resort Cape Town in particular.
Nathi Mthethwa, the country’s Police Minister, said the incident was â€œhorrendous and shockingâ€ and condemned the killers as â€œuseless scoundrelsâ€.
But he insisted that South Africa was still safe for visitors to visit and pointed to the almost unblemished record of this summer’s World Cup.
Details also emerged yesterday of the coupleâ€™s background.
Mr Dewani was educated at Bristol Grammar School. Aged 18 he was accepted on a scholarship program by consulting firm Arthur Andersen. He went to university in Manchester and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte.
However he and his brother, Preyen Dewani, left their City jobs in 2005 to expand their fatherâ€™s healthcare business and property empire in the south west of England.
The brothers increased the turn over of the healthcare firm by Â£3million within 18 months and have planned a care village in South Wales as well as a chain of luxury care centres for the elderly.
Mrs Dewani was raised in Mariestad and studied engineering at university. Until February she worked at Ericsson, the mobile phone giant, in Stockholm.
She move to England recently and had entered Bristolâ€™s Top Model competition under her maiden name, Anni Hindocha, earlier this year.