When I was 10 years old, my mom's sister was killed. She was 22 years old.

At that point I didn't understand much of anything, but I remember my mom fell deep into depression over losing her sister in such a horrible way.

About 2 weeks before it happened, I was watching TV in the living room when the phone rang. It was my aunt wanting to talk to my mom. They talked for a long time and at some point, I remember my mom telling her to take care of herself cos she had been having a weird feeling about her for a few days. My aunt freaked out a little cos my mom usually has a sixth sense about these things but brushed it off.

2 weeks later, on a Tuesday afternoon, a relative called our house and delivered the horrible news.

My aunt had been murdered by her ex-husband because he didn't accept the end of their relationship. They had 3 kids together and had been in an on and off relationship for about 2 years before she decided enough was enough. He had walked in earlier that day and asked if she was sure she wasn't coming back to him. She said yes, she was sure. They were arguing in the small entrance to the house, in front of their 3 kids (then aged 2, 3 and 5) when my aunt turned around to walk away.

She barely walked 3 steps when he pulled a gun and shot her point blank in the back of the head. He then turned the gun to himself and fired. The kids witnessed everything.

What was most difficult about it all was that up to that point my uncle had never shown any signs of being violent. He had never been that kind of guy. It took everyone by surprise that he did such a horrible, horrible thing. That day, the kids lost both their parents and a little bit of their sanity. They had to go to therapy well into their teens to be able to cope with what they saw.

The next day my mom and dad travelled to the small town my aunt had been living in and to their shock, the more distant relatives and Neighbours had come in and taken everything of value they could find out of the house. They took everything, even the food in the cupboards and the furniture. After the police left and the bodies were taken, they came in and took all they could get their hands on.

Even as a child back then, I couldn't believe people would be so heartless and dishonest like that. Behaving like vultures, wanting to get anything out of a horrible situation like that.

Their kids are ok today. They're aged 26, 23 and 22. They struggled with PTSD for a long time and still do but they are doing much better.

Thanks for reading. Please support!