Sean Preston, the husband of Halima Hoosen-Preston, who was brutally murdered in her home in Glenmore on June 2, has issued a statement denying that the murder was linked to Israel’s war in Gaza (Palestine).

During the attack, which took place on Hyder Road, Sean and their son (18) were also stabbed multiple times. They are recovering in hospital.

In a video widely shared on social media, the accused in the murder and attempted murder cases, Grayson James Beare (44), stated his attack was because of the family’s pro-Palestinian stance and alleged that Hoosen-Preston ‘and her family thought it was entertaining that my cousins were killed in Israel’.

However, in his statement, Sean said the comments made by Beare in the video are ‘baseless’.

“I would therefore like to clarify that in as much as the accused has tried to justify his actions, citing comments that Halima supposedly made to provoke this heinous crime, from our perspective as a family, this is not a political or religious matter. This is purely a criminal matter, and we want it to be treated as such.

“The accused was, at most, an acquaintance of ours and someone we had last seen in around 2019, so the comments he has made in a video which went viral are baseless, as are the comments attributed to him that Halima ‘was happy that Muslims were killing Jews’. Halima was well aware of the fact that what’s going on in Palestine has nothing to do with Muslim-Jewish relations, and she enjoyed friendships with individuals from diverse faith backgrounds. She was a peace-loving individual who respected all religions. In fact, when Halima expressed her views regarding Palestine to her loved ones, she was careful to emphasise that this wasn’t an attack on a singular religion but rather an attack on humanity,” he said.

Sean described Halima as a strong woman who loved her children.

“She was a faithful friend to many, a confidante to her kids, and a daughter to her mother-in-law and father-in-law. If you needed support or any kind of help, she was there for you. As a wife, she was loving. We were together for 25 years, and we had a very strong, loving relationship. We felt that we were one another’s soul mates. She loved her kids, and she would do anything for them. In fact, she loved all kids and loved everyone in general – that’s the kind of person she was. To my parents, Gavin and Deanne, she was the daughter they never had.

“We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to the community for the immense level of compassion and support they have shown us during this extremely trying time. For now, we would like to respectfully request that we be afforded the space to come to terms with what has happened. As you can imagine, the road ahead is a long one, and we ask that you keep us in your prayers,” he said.

According to National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, ‘the matter was remanded to June 11 and for Beare to undergo mental assessment. The state is opposed to bail’.