[PICS] Here’s to you, Elene: Slain Manenberg teen’s 21st birthday celebrated
|Published
MILESTONE: Family had a special cake and made a 21st key
A 21st birthday bash was held in memory of slain Manenberg teen Elene Lino, who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend.
The body of the popular 19-year-old was found stuffed in a wheelie bin on January 9, 2022, by her sister Candice Baartman, just hours after neighbours heard the couple fighting.
Candice, 27, was left traumatised when she arrived home that morning to find blood in the doorway and embarked on a search for Elene.
She found Elene’s boyfriend Gavin Manuel, 50, several streets away, pushing a wheelie bin and when confronted, he left the vullisblik behind and ran away.
Candice made the discovery when she saw Elene’s feet and realised she had been killed.
Mayhem broke out in the Cape Flats community as mense searched for him, pelting the homes of various innocent people amid false allegations that Gavin was hiding inside.
Manenberg cops then discovered that his daughter Abwinita Prins, 22, had been hiding him in Mitchells Plain and she was brought in for questioning.
Her cellphone revealed that she had lied to cops for nearly a week and tipped her father off each time the investigating team was close.
He was later arrested hiding among bergies in the Town Centre.
Candice said on Sunday that Elene would have celebrated her 21st birthday on March 18.
“We hosted the party on Sunday because in our family we always looked forward to 21st birthdays. We always said that when she turns 21 we will have a big celebration and she was excited,” she added.
“So we made a 21st key and a special cake and we had the party without her.
“Elene always told me to keep my wedding dress so she can wear it one day for her wedding and look today, there is nobody to wear the dress.”
Uncle Deon Lambert, 49, added: “It is things like 21st birthdays that our family has been robbed of by Gavin, and the family suffers because of his actions. But we pray justice will be served.”
Manuel will return to the Wynberg Regional Court on May 9.