Slain Knysna mother Velia Strydom, second from left, with her four children, from left, Zeec, Zeeclin, Zarah and Zehaniah.
Velia Strydom excitedly planned her 40th birthday party to perfection.
But instead of blowing out her candles at the Protea Hotel, surrounded by the 100 guests she had invited, her family had to celebrate the day without her.
She had put it all together herself, a teal and rose gold theme, with Proverbs 11:16 on little scrolls on every table, exactly the way she wanted it.
"It was incredibly sad," family spokesperson and Strydom's uncle, Warrick Langisa, told IOL in reaction to the case being transferred to the high court for trial.
