“I love you. I love you all. Goodbye,” a final farewell uttered by a dying man that was intended to bring his family peace and closure.
Yet, every time the family of Johan Harding thinks of this affirmation of love, they are reminded of the senseless way he was taken from them in a brutal stabbing incident on September 1.
Mr Harding’s wife of nine years, Elma, was unable to describe the incident that claimed her husband’s life as damage to her frontal lobe in a car accident has partially affected her memory.
According to Elma’s mother, Christine Els, Mr Harding was closing the public bar at the Grand Hotel in Utrecht, where he worked as the floor manager, when he noticed two men who were engaged in an altercation.
“We heard that he approached the men and asked them to stop fighting and go home as the public bar was closed. As he turned around to continue locking up, one of the grabbed him and stabbed him twice in the back. His boss heard the commotion and rushed him to the hospital,” said Mrs Els.
Mr Harding sustained a knife wound to the heart and a second knife wound to the lung. When his family arrived at his side, he was conscious and appeared stabilised, but he passed away shortly after bidding his family goodbye.
The last photographs his family has of him were taken that very day in the company of Pasella presenter, Paul Rothman, who was the MC at the Miss Utrecht competition held at the Grand Hotel the previous evening.
“Johan was such a hard working and well- loved person. We feel that his death was so unnecessary and could have been prevented if there was proper security at the hotel. He was only breadwinner in his family and his wife and four children are now going to be left destitute without him. Even though, he was injured in the workplace, his family has not been offered and compensation after the tragedy,” added Mrs Els.Attempts were made to contact Mr Harding’s employer via cell phone, but he could not be reached at the time of publishing.
