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Theron had been presumed missing since March this year. On September 26, it was discovered that she was in fact deceased.
According to local friends of Theron who attended the ceremony, it was 'beautiful'. One of her friends said, "I felt a good strong sense of closure afterwards". The friends created an altar in the form of a mandala in the sand. Here they sang songs of love and life and meditated.
The community is left reeling in shock as Theron's daughter, Phoenix Racing Cloud Theron (18), and her partner, Kyle Maspero (18), both of whom formerly lived in Knysna, stand accused of her murder. Their trial is set to start today (Thursday, October 10).
Although online news sites were ablaze with popular opinion as to the character of these youngsters and various judgements have been passed regarding their involvement in the tragedy, the reality remains that no-one truly knows what happened.
The young couple moved to Cape Town in February. They had been living with Theron at the time of her disappearance. The Simon's Town Magistrates Court heard on Monday, September 30 that the couple had allegedly planned that Phoenix would distract her mother so that Maspero could murder her, following which they allegedly buried her body in a field nearby.
Godfrey Scheepers (20) approached SAPS on September 26 and confessed to his involvement in Rosemary's disappearance. He claimed to have been approached by Maspero to assist in moving the decomposed body to a shallow grave at the Strandfontein Pavilion, where it was found. Scheepers was released on R500 bail on September 30.
The respective schools these teenagers attended were unwilling to be named in the press. Information shared publicly on social media sites portrays these youngsters as regular teenagers. Phoenix was a member of a band, Painless, that recorded a CD a few years ago. The band used poetry written by a young Phoenix. A parent of one of her fellow band members described her as a dynamic young girl who had enabled her two younger friends to be a part of the band they had dreamed of. She described the three as talented young musicians. She believes that the lyrics written by Phoenix will give people a greater insight into who this young girl was before circumstances led to the current tragic situation.
This parent has come up with the idea to make copies of the bootleg CD produced by the band, Painless, and sell them in order to raise funds to be used for Phoenix' benefit. "It would be quite nice to know that the Racing Cloud we know and love will essentially be able to help herself through these proceeds, enabling her to get adequate counselling and legal representation," she said. She wishes to gauge public interest in purchasing such a CD so that she will be able to raise the funds needed to create the discs.
Maspero was an active participant in Capoiera classes. He was in the process of writing Matric examinations, but had not yet completed all his subjects when he decided to leave school and move to Cape Town with his girlfriend, Phoenix, at the beginning of 2013.
Whilst those who know the teenagers have speculated that drug use sparked the alleged violent behaviour, the court has not yet heard any evidence as to whether there could have been any mitigating circumstances surrounding the murder.
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Long-time friend of the late Rosemary Theron, Divina Marais tied prayer flags at the alter drawn in the sand where her memorial ceremony was held. Her friends bade Rosemary farewell in what was described as "a beautiful ceremony". (Photo: Garth Ensley/www.garthensley.co.za)
ARTICLE: CANDICE LUDICK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
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