UAE | General
Bittersweet holiday season for family of missing Kerry
Relatives still waiting for justice, five months after her disappearance.
- By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:51 December 21, 2008
- Kurt Winter (third from left), Kerry Winter's brother, together with other relatives and friends, attends a church service to offer prayers for his missing sister. The family says it is trying to stay strong as they remember their loved one during Christmas.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
Dubai: The merry-making end-of-year festivities are turning out to be an ordeal for the family of Kerry Winter, as they remember their young daughter, who went missing four months ago, in Dubai.
In her native South Africa, the Winter family are still hopeful that Kerry could be found and are awaiting the trial of her suspected assailant, M.A., 42, to come to an end.
Kerry Winter went missing after a quarrel with her ex-boyfriend, a Briton identified as M.A. He admitted to beating her and bundling her off in her own vehicle but has denied murdering her. Subsequent questioning by police and family members has been unsuccessful in the search of Kerry's body. The South African woman had been living in Dubai for about six years. At the end of August this year the relationship between Kerry and her boyfriend is said to have become tumultuous, family members told Gulf News.
Trial update
On August 24 things turned particularly sour and witnesses told a court that they had seen M.A. beating Kerry, and before driving off with her, had threatened them as well.
Support flooded in from community groups here for the family members who flew to Dubai to search for their sister and aunt. After spending up to two months here looking for his sister, Kurt Winter, 41, and nephew David Giles had to return home empty-handed.
Lia Winter, Kerry's sister-in-law, told Gulf News that the family is still liaising with South African officials in order to be updated on the trial of M.A.
"We are progressing slowly but believe that we will get justice in the end. We have to give the Dubai Police enough time to ensure that they have covered every angle before charging him so that they can charge him for as much as possible," she said.
"The family is trying to be strong but with this being our festive month of Christmas it has been extremely difficult," she added.
Share this article
Popular in UAE
-
Gallery
Award-winning pages
Gulf News honoured for creating a complete reader experience
-
Graphics
Sunfish shines bright
Here's all you need to know about the rare marine creature
-
XPRESS
Licence to kill?
Pre-teen pupils in Ajman driving cars to school, principal alleges
Latest news
- Third annual Reaching U Family Fun Day a success
- Admission criteria for Indian institutions revised
- Notes in brief
- Radar system nabs 400 bad drivers in Abu Dhabi
- Traffic in Mina area to ease with new U-turn
- MUD launches photography competition
- DIAC to enroll 25,000 students
- Islamic fashion, a growing trend
- Indian recreational facility in capital to get makeover
- Poor pupils of Kenya in need of help
- Gulf News readers on celebrating Mother's Day
- Roads, bridges in Meydan Racecourse area to open
- UAE fully committed to enhancing human rights
- KHDA school assessments to be released in May
- Sharjah cabbies voice grievances
Community Reports
-
Poor pupils of Kenya in need of help
=12 students from The Universal American School in Dubai will be visiting the country to finish a school project
-
Rainwater still plagues residents of Sharjah
Mosquitoes and damaged roads remain in wake of storms that hit the emirate
-
Stop smoking for the sake of health
Many shops ignore 'no smoking' warning and sell cigarettes
-
Pressing need to stop vandalism
Gang of juveniles destroying public property in Sharjah
