Family and friends of slain superyacht stewardess Paige Bell will hold a vigil at Hillcrest outside Durban as the man accused of her murder is set to appear in a Bahamas court on Thursday.
The court proceedings against Mexican engineer Brigido Muñoz, 39, who was found with severe injuries to his arms near Bell’s body, is expected to be a plea hearing.
Bell, a former Hillcrest High School pupil, was killed aboard the superyacht Far From It, which costs R3.5m a week to charter, on July 3, days before her 21st birthday.
According to global superyacht authority Boat International, police arrested fellow crew member Muñoz shortly afterwards.
Bell was partially dressed with her throat slashed and defensive wounds on her body. Police are investigating a case of murder and attempted suicide.
Bell’s family urged the international yachting community to wear yellow, her favourite colour, and to host or attend vigils on Thursday.
The international yachting fraternity raised concern about vetting crew and security following Bell’s death.
So Noo, today, of all days, we received a letter from Liverpool, your and Daddy’s beloved club, by air mail, as if heaven itself wanted to remind us that you’re still with us in spirit.
— Michelle Bell, Paige's mother
Earlier this month, Bell’s mother Michelle took to social media to describe the heartbreak her family was enduring.
“To my precious baby girl, Paigey, four months without you and still every breath aches with your absence. My sweet precious Noo, there simply are no words that can hold the weight of this pain. Four months today since you were stolen from us, and the heartbreak only deepens.”
“The denial that once helped me believe that you could maybe somehow still come back is starting to slowly fade, and reality is settling in like a storm that never passes. I miss you with every fibre of my being! I miss your voice, your laugh, your light. I miss the way you filled our days with joy, sass and love, even how you would jokingly reprimand me or give instructions for the day,” she wrote on Facebook page Justice for Paige Bell.
She said on the fourth-month anniversary of her daughter’s death, the family received a letter from the Liverpool Football Club.
“So Noo, today, of all days, we received a letter from Liverpool, your and Daddy’s beloved club, by air mail, as if heaven itself wanted to remind us that you’re still with us in spirit. I cried holding it and the excitement of handing it to Daddy was priceless, as we imagined your smile, we both cried as we knew the magnitude of what this letter meant not only to Daddy, but what pride you would have had of this incredible gesture from both of your beloved football club. You would’ve loved it, my baby girl.”
Bell’s friends held a memorial in Fort Lauderdale on November 6 ahead of the plea hearing.
“They’re standing for you, just as we are. You are so loved my Paigey and so deeply missed my Noo. Your life mattered more than words can say and it still and forever will matter.”
“I promise you, my darling, I will keep fighting. To keep going. I will fight for justice, for truth, for your name to be spoken with honour. I will fight with every ounce of strength God gives me, because you deserve nothing less,” her mother said.
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