WALVIS BAY – The family of murdered young woman Shannon Wasserfall says her suspected killer, Azaan Madisia shows no remorse for her actions, judging from the content of her so called confession that has been circulated on social media since last week.
However, the family said the accused is trying to change the narrative of the alleged murder by painting herself as the victim and the deceased as the aggressor.
Madisia, who was arrested late 2020 after the remains of Wasserfall were found buried in a shallow grave close to the Dunes Mall at Walvis Bay, is facing four charges being murder, defeating the course of justice, fraud and theft.
Her brother Junior Mulundu faces two charges, namely murder and defeating the course of justice for allegedly assisting Madisia to hide Wasserfall’s remains. He handed himself over for his involvement shortly after his sister’s arrest. The two have been in police custody since. They both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Speaking on behalf of the family yesterday, Dennis Wasserfall said it is sad that Madisia, despite the tragic murder of Shannon tries to seek forgiveness from her former boyfriend instead of reaching out to the Wasserfall family.
“We see it as an attempt not only to taint Shannon’s image but also as a desperate attempt to try and influence the ongoing case by changing the whole narrative. She is still to reveal how Shannon died on the fateful night,” Dennis said.
He, however, expressed concern on how the letter was leaked, but believes that the letter has no effect on the ongoing case, as it clearly contradicts all the evidence that was gathered by the police so far. He then cautioned the media on dealing with key information not specifically of the case but said that it is indeed crucial that evidence that can be key in investigations or court cases should be handed over to the police before it is circulated in the media.
“Her internet history alone through police investigations showed that she searched for ‘how to bury a body and how to get rid of skeletons on 6 and 7 April, 2020, while Shannon went missing on 10 April. This clearly contradicts what she is saying in the letter,” Dennis said.
The crimes of fraud and theft were committed between 25 February and 22 April last year. Madisia during that time claimed N$6 500 for an Acer laptop and N$14 290 for an iPhone from Old Mutual Short-term Insurance Brokers.
In their last court appearance in the Walvis Bay Magistrate’s Court, State prosecutor Maggy Shiyagaya indicated that, the items were never lost, hence the charges.
“Madisia, reported Wasserfall missing in a written statement on 10 April 2020. The suspect unlawfully also threw away the deceased’s cell phone and SIM card and also cleaned out the blood inside the flat,” Shiyagaya said during the specific court proceedings.
Wasserfall’s remains were ultimately found in October last year after an anonymous message was sent with the exact location of her shallow grave to her father and the police.
Community affairs commander of the Namibian Police, lleni Shapumba said in normal circumstances, evidence linked to a case should be brought under the attention of the police.
“That particular matter is before court. We won’t comment that much on it.” However, he said every Namibian have a civic duty to contribute to curbing crime. This Shapumba said includes media houses that should handle evidence with extreme caution and rather submit such evidence to the police instead of putting investigations or cases in jeopardy.
“We are not much concerned about the content of the letter but the fact that the police are attached to it. You can never leak something that was not in your care,” Shapumba explained.