ON 2 October, she wrote her last Facebook post “Let me download everything I feel”, along with 43 pictures.
On 3 October the body of Juanita Karolus (33) was discovered by a passerby in a riverbed behind a school in Windhoek on Friday.
Police regional crime investigation coordinator deputy commissioner Chrispin Mubebo confirmed yesterday that Karolus was identified by her family on Tuesday through fingerprint tracing at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security.
“The police are busy with investigations, there are some people who are taken in for questioning which is part of the investigation,” Mubebo said.
Karolus, originally from Keetmanshoop in the the ||Kharas region, was stylish, a go-getter, bubbly personality, and a singer-worshipper at many events, her cousin, Cheryl Kahambea (40), says.
Kahambea recalls the last conversation she had with her cousin last Tuesday.
“She was so excited to start a new journey gaining skills to do manicures and pedicures, and piano lessons for a period of six months.
We just want justice to be served,” she says.
In a conversation seen by The Namibian between Karolus and Kahambea, the deceased expressed going through some challenges but remained positive about the outcome.
“I am tired of being unemployed. I want to try something new again, it is not easy being unemployed but I know my life will change after training and gaining these skills,” Karolus’ message reads.
After quitting her last job last year, she started making beaded bracelets and earrings and advertising them on family groups and social media. She never gave up and always strived for better, Kahambea says.
She adds that the saddest part is she expected to see Karolus at her home during the weekend, since she was staying at another cousin at Damara 7 in Katutura.
Family spokesperson Willem Stoffel says the news shocked the family but they have high expectations that the police will arrest those responsible for the murder.
“It has been almost a week now and we are relying on the police to arrest the suspects responsible for the death of my niece,” he says.
Another cousin, Lavonna Kooper (37), says she saw Karolus on Thursday during her lunch break.
“My cousin was so happy and we were just together for a few minutes because I had to get back to work.
Little did I know that was our final moment and good-bye,” she says.
“On that day she posted on her WhatsApp status that she was offline, writing ‘Kry my onder’ which translates to find me under.
So, I replied jokingly as usual but she never responded to my message.”
Kooper adds that she will remember Karolus as a cousin who understandstood her, and shared a great bond with.
The family says Karolus went out for relaxation to a car wash around Damara 7 and left behind her mobile phone, which was on flight mode.
The family tried calling her the following day, however, she was unreachable.
The family says they wanted to report her as a missing person last Friday after realising her phone was off all day.
Messages of condolences from the Keetmanshoop community poured in on social media.
Karolus’ name joins the list of many other rape and murder victims inlcuding Juanita Mabula and Magdalena Stoffels, who both lost their lives in Windhoek in the same tragic manner in 2005 and 2010, respectively.
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