[imagesource: Instagram / @maya_mia_y]

Initial reports on the death of celebrity makeup artist Maja Janeska, the girlfriend of cigarette tycoon Kyle Phillips, suggested that she had taken her own life.

Janeska, who was found in the couple’s bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head and a firearm next to her, was certified dead by paramedics who arrived on the scene.

News24 now reports that Phillips, who is the co-director of Adriano Mazzoti’s Carnilinx cigarette company, was allegedly “in close proximity” to Janeska when she died from the gunshot wound.

He has yet to give a statement to police:

Impeccable sources have told News24 that Phillips refused to be examined by the state pathologist tasked with conducting Janeska’s autopsy, during a tense interaction on Tuesday, and “surrounded himself with his bodyguards”…

The pathologist’s attempts to examine Phillips were understood to be aimed at establishing whether he had any defensive wounds on his body.

The gun that killed Janeska was owned by Phillips. She died from a hollow point bullet injury.

It’s believed that police were able to conduct gunshot residue tests on those who were present when Janeska died. This includes Phillips.

Sources who spoke with News24 said Phillips claimed he was brushing his teeth after an argument with Janeska when he heard a gunshot coming from the couple’s bedroom.

Iva Ristic, who has been in the news plenty of late due to her husband’s infidelity, posted a tribute to her friend:

 

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A post shared by IVA RISTIĆ (@ivarisstic)

Julius Malema, who has long been involved with Mazzotti and Phillips, said earlier in the week that Janeska “was a very lovely lady, forward-looking and she had very good plans for the continent and the country and held our leadership in high regard”.

He also said she “never came across to me as the type that had a potential to kill herself”.

In court papers revealed in 2015, Malema told SARS that Phillips had loaned him R1 million to help with settling the EFF leader’s tax bill.

A relative who spoke with News24 said they were shocked to hear the news:

“She sometimes feared for her life. Her boyfriend had men working for him, and she feared them also. We are heartbroken, and we seriously don’t know what to do.”

The relative added that, when Phillips contacted them about Janeska’s death, he appeared “distraught”.

Janeska’s pinned post on her Instagram account shows her meeting with North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osman.

She also spoke with university students in North Macedonia, telling them, “Believe in yourself, because that’s the only way you will succeed.”

 

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[sources:news24&news24]