In a heart-wrenching account, a South African mother has shared her sorrow after her son died in hospital after being assaulted in New Zealand.
Luke Smith, 21, recently moved with his parents Natasha and Brian from Cape Town to Upper Hutt in Wellington, where they wanted to start their lives anew, away from the crime faced daily in South Africa.
However, rather than finding the safety and stability they sought, they now confront a tragedy.
Now they are battling to return his body to Cape Town for a burial after he died following an early morning altercation.
According to a grief-struck Natasha Smith, Luke went out with a friend who was visiting from South Africa.
“I can still see him walking out the door. They dressed smart in case they would go to the club.
“Later in the evening, Luke called to say they would be home soon, before the public transport stops, but that never happened, because the next call I got was from the police to say my son was in hospital.”
Smith said she learnt that Luke had been viciously assaulted in Courtenay Place.
She said the video they had seen showed Luke speaking to a man before walking away.
“As my son walks away, the guy who was so much bigger than him, came from behind and knocked him.
“Luke fell to the ground, where he broke his nose, bleeding from his ears, mouth and nose.”
After being on life-support for a few hours, Luke’s machine was switched off.
“The amount of support we received from the South African, African and New Zealand communities was so overwhelming, the hospital was flooded with people who came to pay their respects.
“Our home is constantly full of people. Luke really made a big impact on so many people’s lives in such a short time.
“It speaks to the type of person he was.
“What makes things even harder is that he wanted to move back to ‘spread his wings’ but his father and I couldn't handle him not being around; now look what we are faced with.”
Luke was supposed to go for a job screening on October 14, in order for him to study further in New Zealand.
“He had so many dreams and aspirations, now that was stripped away from him. That person also took away the opportunity for us to become grandparents, he broke our family.”
She said they are still deciding whether to return to South Africa.
“At the moment, our main thing is getting Luke buried and making sure he receives justice.”
The case against the man accused of the assault on Luke is back in court on October 21.
Detective Tim Leich, from the Wellington Criminal Investigations Branch, confirmed the case against the 29-year-old accused was now a homicide enquiry.
“The victim of the assault, 21-year-old Luke Smith, died in hospital surrounded by family after his life support was withdrawn overnight.
“A 29-year-old was arrested and was granted bail following his appearance in the Wellington District Court.
“He is due to appear in court on October 21, where police said further charges may be added.”
The cost involved in getting Luke’s body back to South Africa is around R320 000.
A fundraiser has been launched to help his family.
The Mercury