Jayde Panayiotou.
Image: Facebook
As the world and South Africa awaits to hear the ‘close relative’ that is implicated in the murder of Port Elizabeth teacher, Jayde Panayitou, it has also emerged that the moving eulogy that was presented by her husband, Christopher, may not have been his original message as it has a striking resemblance to one that is found online.
After only a few days of investigating, the South African Police Services announced on Thursday that the murder of school teacher Jayde Panayitou may have been deliberate and one person, Thando Siyoli, 31, made a brief appearance in the Port Elizabeth Megistrate’s Court and was remanded in custody until the 7th of May. According to provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Marinda Mills, the police have ruled out robbery as the motive for the murder and they also confirmed that a second man has also been arrested in connection with this tragedy. Brigadier Mills added that she could not divulge the name of the second man, who she said, was a close relative of the deceased, because he has not yet appeared in court. The close relative will appear before the magistrate on Monday. The man who is said to be a close relative of Jayde is said by sources close to the investigation to have taken out a substantial hit on her and was arrested on Thursday in Uitenhage while dropping off some money to one of the men he had hired to kill her. The amount involved is estimated to be in the regions of R80 000.
Jayde Panayiotou was abducted on Tuesday morning by unknown men while she was waiting for a lift to the school where she taught. Her body was later found on the outskirts of the town. Her memorial service was held at the Mater Dei Catholic Church in Cape Road, Port Elizabeth on Monday. Her husband, Christopher presented a moving eulogy in which he described her as the most capable and wonderful woman he had ever known. He went on to say “She made me feel like the luckiest man alive and I never quite figured out why she gave her heart to me.”
It has however, emerged that these words may not have been coming straight from Christopher’s heart. According to some local publications, a huge chunk of the eulogy that was presented by Christopher has a striking resemblance to the one that was written by Charles Atkins called “My Sweet Wife’s Eulogy” dated October 2010. Phrases found in Christopher Panayiotou’s speech like “She made me feel like the luckiest man alive and I never quite figured out why she gave her heart to me.” are similar to what Atkins’ sentiments about his wife, with whom he had been married for ten years, incidentally. He said “She made me feel like the luckiest man on earth… I’ve never quite figured out why she gave her heart to me, as I’m not rich or handsome.”
