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Andy Kerr has been accused of killing his mother, Dawn Kerr in his home last month.
With a charge of murder, Kerr was meant to appear in court yesterday for a bail hearing. However, he reportedly abandoned his bail application and will now spend the festive season in prison, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
IOL reported that 32-year-old Kerr and his mom lived in a communal housing room in Hazelmere, Durban. Neighbours became worried when the 72-year-old woman seemed to have disappeared and had the authorities come and check the situation out. When paramedics from the security company Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) entered the room, they found her decomposing body on a bed. Kerr told them that she had died of natural causes, but his story allegedly changed later.
Residents mentioned that Kerr did not inform anyone of his mother’s death and that he allegedly stayed with her body for three nights.
In a statement published on RUSA’s Facebook page, it says that Kerr told those who arrived there first that she had died of natural causes.
He then provided differing accounts of what happened and when questioned said that she was visiting him for two weeks but actually lived in a home at South Beach in Durban that specialises in frail care.
Kerr posted about his mother’s visit on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram
RUSA’s Prem Balram said Kerr gave different versions of how his mother died:
“When questioned further, he told officers that his mother arrived at his house two weeks ago to visit him. He said he decided to give her a bath and claimed that she refused and turned violent. He claimed that he pushed her, and she fell to the ground and suffered head injuries,” Balram said at the time.
Kerr allegedly dressed his mother, placed her on the bed, cleaned the room and left.
“He did not advise anyone of her demise and stayed in the room with her partially decomposing body for the following three nights. During the day, he would leave and return in the afternoon,” Balram said.
A close friend of Kerr’s who did not want to be named said that Kerr had recently mentioned that his mother was ill. He said he couldn’t believe that Kerr, a social media influencer and former Durban Youth Radio presenter, killed his mother as “everyone loved him” and he had “recently found spirituality”.
View this post on Instagram
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that the circumstances that led to her death formed part of a police investigation.
In a follow-up by IOL, KZN NPA spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara confirmed that Kerr abandoned his application and the matter was remanded to February 21, for further investigations.
That means he will be spending the festive season in Jail.
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