GEORGE NEWS - Today, 28 August, marks 25 years since the brutal murder of the 28-year-old insurance consultant Leslie van Zyl in her hotel room at the King George Hotel.
A quarter of a century has passed, yet her killer has never been brought to justice - a wound that continues to fester for her family.
Van Zyl, a Liberty Life consultant from Fish Hoek, was found in the bathroom of her hotel suite in the early hours of 29 August 2000. She had been stabbed several times and strangled.
Her jewellery and purse were missing, but her laptop and cellphone were left untouched.
Some guests had heard faint cries for help. The staff were alerted, but no one intervened. By the time the police were finally called, it was too late.
For Van Zyl's mother, Christine Brockbanks Steward, who now lives in the UK, the date remains unbearable.
"It's been 25 years, but it seems like yesterday. It's in my mind, I remember everything. I want closure and for whoever did this to be punished. Someone in George knows what happened. I will never stop believing that," she told George Herald this week.
"We will never, ever forget Leslie. We often speak about her. That is how we keep her memory alive. She will always be a part of our lives," Steward said.
Over the years, the case has been plagued by missteps, unanswered questions and missed opportunities.
In 2007, a court declared that 'an unknown person' had been responsible for the crime, effectively closing the door on the prosecution.
The police had retested Van Zyl's clothes with modern forensic technology, but the results came back negative. Tests to match fingerprints found on the scene also yielded nothing.
Unanswered questions about Van Zyl's murder
• The mysterious phone calls: Who phoned Van Zyl's hotel room that night from a public telephone outside the then Dros Restaurant? The caller has never been traced.
• The suspicious vehicle: A Ford Bantam bakkie was reportedly parked in a side street near the hotel that night. Its link to the case was never clarified.
• The man in the hoodie: Witnesses spoke of a man in tracksuit bottoms and a hooded top leaving the hotel grounds. His identity was never established.
• The stolen items: Van Zyl's jewellery and purse disappeared. Why were these taken while her cellphone and laptop, both of high value, were left behind?
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