Tributes pour in for teen who died after slap

"My sister, you are now dancing happily with the angels in the hands of the Lord."

Three days after posting a happy selfie on Facebook of his family on a plane to their dream holiday in Mauritius, a 14-year-old boy paid a heartfelt tribute to his dead sister.

''She was one in a million" said the boy of his sister Mundolene Vosloo, 17, who was allegedly killed by her stepmother at the four-star Hotel Riu Le Morne on the Le Morne peninsula in Mauritius on Wednesday.

Mauritian authorities say the boy is likely to be the key witness against his stepmother Marietjie Vosloo, 39, who has been arrested and provisionally charged with Mundolene's murder.

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The teenager from Springs, east of Johannesburg, travelled with her father, Mike, two brothers aged 14 and 11, and her stepmother - their father's second wife - to the tropical island on a family vacation.

The Sunday Times understands that Mauritian police will today conduct a crime reconstruction with the boy, who is said to have been present when his stepmother allegedly threw a glass at his sister and later slapped her.

Mundolene's family in South Africa said on Friday they were too traumatised to talk and were awaiting details of what had happened in Mauritius.

Her aunt, Cornelle Vorster, said: "This is a very difficult time ... We can't comment on anything at this stage."

In a Facebook post, Vorster wrote: "Thank you to everyone for the messages and prayers with the death of my brother and sister-in-law's daughter ... Our hearts are broken."

Family lawyer Jan van Heerden said the family's priority was to repatriate Mundolene's body to South Africa and make funeral arrangements.

Mundolene's biological mother, Mariska, and her husband travelled to Mauritius on Thursday.

A message from Mundolene's father posted by a family friend on Facebook provides some detail of how Mundolene allegedly died.

He said Marietjie had been "moaning" at Mundolene and he had asked his daughter to ignore her to avoid a fight. "Mundolene did as I asked and avoided any possible conflict. On several occasions myself and the boys asked Marietjie to leave Mundolene alone.

"A fight ensued where Marietjie, in front of everyone, threw Mundolene with a glass."

Mike Vosloo's message, in Afrikaans, said that during a later altercation, Marietjie slapped Mundolene, who fell down.

"My child was declared dead 30 minutes later. Can't believe my beautiful child is taken away from me. I miss her very much.

"All I wanted was a once-in-a-lifetime holiday for my children. They were so excited and now it has turned out like this."

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According to the police report the family, except Marietjie, are due to return to South Africa on Tuesday.

Marietjie will make her second appearance in the Bambous District Court on Thursday.

Police spokesman Inspector Shiva Coothen said: ''Until the investigation is over we cannot jump to any conclusions.

''Everyone who has witnessed the incident, their statements have to be recorded and they have to testify when the case goes to court.

"They will have to record the father's version on whether he witnessed anything and they need to know if there were any problems between his wife and late daughter," Coothen said.

Tributes poured in for Mundolene.

Her boyfriend Tyron Bothma said it was too early to speak, but wrote several messages and posted a musical tribute to her on Facebook.

Other tributes were from her friends at Hoërskool Hugenote in Springs. Zandré Wolmarans wrote: ''You were the prettiest girl I knew ... God will take care of you. I'll miss you very much."

Chenique Levinson wrote: ''Someone make me wake up and say 'it was just a dream'."

Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Nelson Kgwete said the family had not requested government assistance.

An investigator told Mauritian media yesterday that Mundolene's mother Mariska had given a statement to the police in which she said Marietjie disliked her ex-husband spoiling the children when they visited his home. She also said that she had asked her daughter to avoid her stepmother as she was "bad tempered".

laganparsadm@sundaytimes.co.za