Ashes of South African couple who died in a domestic row in Ireland to be brought home

A family member of slain Mpumalanga couple, Angelique Booysen and Cornelius Billing, has flown to Ireland to bring home their ashes and their children.
Billing, 44, and his wife, Booysen, 27, died when they apparently knifed each other on December 17, in a bloody custody fight in Kildystart, Ireland. 

Billing’s sister, Ursula Venter, arrived in Ireland on Sunday. Booysen’s mother, Mossie van Niekerk, said she had not spoken to Venter since then. “Financially, we are not sure what amount we need. We have completed various forms and paperwork which was e-mailed to Irish officials.” 


Venter is expected to return to South Africa on January 15. Since the incident, Venter and Van Niekerk had been communicating with the children, Pamela, 5, and Corne, 3, and the caregivers, through Skype.
“My grandchildren were overwhelmed with presents from well-wishers in Clare County. I am crossing my fingers, hoping that everything goes well,” Van Niekerk said.
Venter could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Although the couple had not been victims of crime, they had moved from Mpumalanga to Ireland in March to start a new life and escape crime in South Africa. However, they had financial trouble and Billing had prevented Booysen from returning to home with the children.
 
He contracted malaria in October while looking for a civil engineering job in Tanzania.
Good Samaritans have raised funds to help the family return the children and ashes to South Africa, and look after the children in the interim.
The Mirror reported that emergency workers in County Clare, dealing with a separate fire in the area, were alerted to the bloodbath, when Booysen stumbled on to the street carrying one of her daughters.