Credit: Ian Landsberg Credit: Ian Landsberg
Hundreds of mourners gathered at a memorial service at the Dutch Reformed Church in Fish Hoek to pay their last respects to murdered Maties student, Hannah Cornelius.
The 21-year-old BA student was raped and murdered following a hijacking on Stellenbosch’s main road last Saturday.
After the service, mourners gathered on the steps of the church and along the side of the road as close to 100 bikers, with white ribbons and balloons adorning their motorbikes, did a drive-by in tribute to the young woman.
Hannah's parents were overcome with emotion following the tribute, with her father saluting the bikers with a peace sign as they drove past the church.
High school friend Caryn Voortman described Hannah as “a ray of sunshine who brightened every single day she was alive. She was the purest soul on the planet”.
Four suspects who were arrested for the rape and murder, appeared in the Stellenbosch Magistrates' Court this week. Eben van Niekerk, 27, Vernon Witbooi, 32, Geraldo Parsons, 26, and Nashwill Julies, 28, will make their next appearance on July 28.