More details have surfaced on the murder of Hillary Gardee, and according to police minister Bheki Cele, it may have been a brutal ordeal for the young mother.
How was Hillary Gardee murdered?
The minister was accompanied by national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola on an oversight visit at the scene where Gardee, daughter of former EFF Secretary General Godrich, was found.
Gardee’s lifeless body was stumbled upon by a group of workers in the Ehlanzeni District on Tuesday morning, a long way from where she was last seen alive on Friday 29 April 2022.
Cele conceded that at this time, no new leads have surfaced since the gruesome discovery but all efforts have been plunged into a 72-hour activation plan, to fast-track the murder investigation and, hopefully, in the end, make an arrest.
While careful not to reveal too much about the discoveries made at the scene where Gardee’s body was found, Cele did hint at a brutal sighting.
“We have a criminal out there who murdered a young human being, it does look like in a brutal way. So let us get that person… it will help us [to know] if there are politics in it, economics in it, if it’s just hate, passions, whatever kind,” he said.
In a statement released by Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli to News24, it was confirmed that early observations showed that Gardee suffered wounds to her head.
“She was actually still wearing the clothes that were reportedly indicated that she was wearing during her disappearance. She had some wounds on her head and police are investigating a murder case now,” Col. Mdhluli said.
Cele and General Masemola paid their respects to the Gardee family at their Nelspruit home, and the sentiment, the minister reported, was clear:
“Comforting the family is fine, but they expect more than that,” Cele said.
Cele assured Mpumalanga police will be working around the clock to retrace Gardee’s steps on the day she was last seen alive, identify the last person she was seen with, and turn over every stone to find her killer.
The Gardee family has yet to issue a public statement on the death of Hillary.
She is survived by a three-year-old child.