The Mathura family is asking the media and by extension the public for privacy and time to cope with the death of their sister and mother as well as their father’s arrest.
On October 15, Alana and her husband Andrew Mathura were charged with murdering their daughter on a date unknown between July 8, 2017, when she was last seen alive, and March 13, this year, a day after her skeletal remains were unearthed in the backyard of the family’s Butu Road, Valsayn home.
In a media statement, a member of the Mathura family said they are facing profound grief and the intense media attention has left them with little privacy to process the changes.
“This sensationalisation has also led to excessive social media cyberbullying and anxiety that this consistent, severe re-traumatization will happen again. Please consider that an innocent child is one of the survivors,” the family member said.
The family member is asking for responsible and compassionate media coverage as they adjust.
