We're Hoping For Answers

The country was shocked when Mari and her fiancé, Jean, died in a shower while on holiday. Here her family talk to YOU about the latest turn in the tragedy

- Cyril Blackburn

She often catches herself staring into space, tears streaming down her face, and has no idea how long she’s been sitting like that.

Her grief over her daughter is like being in prison, Maria Hoon says – she feels trapped in an endless cycle of darkness, in a world she no longer feels part of.

“To say I’m shattered doesn’t even begin to describe it, she says. “I’m an empty shell – there’s nothing left of me. I feel like I stopped living when my child died.”

It’s been nearly a year since her daughter, Mari Hoon (28), was found dead in a shower along with her fiancé, Jean Vosloo (25).

The couple had been staying in a picturesque stone cottage on Zuuranys guest farm in Kareedouw, Eastern Cape, and their bodies were discovered by a friend who’d joined them on the weekend away (YOU, 14 May 2020).

For months there were more questions than answers and no closure for the grieving parents.

Finally, however, there’s been a breakthrough. A toxicology report released recently has confirmed the cause of death: carbon monoxide poisoning – levels of the noxious gas in their blood were upwards of 70%.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli has confirmed that two counts of culpable homicide are being investigated and that a “person of interest” has been asked for a statement.