The protection order meant to shield Charmaine Staude from persistent threats of violence and harassment from her abusive ex-lover was rendered useless when he barged into her Blue Goose cafe and shot her dead on Tuesday.
Staude lost her life when her estranged boyfriend, Brian Bradley, went into the premises of her popular cafe demanding to speak to her. When she asked him to leave the shop, he shot her in the face and then turned the gun on himself.
Both Staude and Bradley died on the scene.
Staude’s death has sent shockwaves across the East London and East Coast community.
When the Dispatch visited the Staude family yesterday, her children, Daylan and Joanne Staude, were still distraught and in shock at the loss of their mother.
The siblings revealed that only a few hours before her tragic death, Staude had been in court trying to get a protection order against Bradley.
They expressed their disappointment at the justice system for failing their mother.
“Our justice system has failed us. Our mother died at the hands of her abusive lover.
“No amount of effort from her side was enough to save her life,” they said.
Daylan said they were struggling to come to terms with the loss of their mother.
“We’re still dealing with a flood of emotions. How do you cope with losing a loved one? We’re an incredibly small family, so now there’s a missing piece.”
The siblings said that their mother’s tumultuous five-year relationship with Bradley had come to an end when she broke up with him a few months prior to the shooting.
“She kicked him out of the property that she owned and shared with him after the breakup, and that’s when the harassment began.”
Daylan said Staude revealed to them earlier this month that Bradley had threatened to kill her, saying she would be “dead in three months”.
He said in the last two weeks leading up to her death, Bradley had slashed Staude’s car tyres and broken into her home.
On Sunday evening, he had parked his car outside Staude’s home all night, watching her through her bedroom window.
The siblings revealed that it was Staude’s 58th birthday on Monday, but she had spent the day in court getting a restraining order against the man who would, within hours, kill her.
“She spent her last day getting protection against the man who shot her the very next day.
“This shows that there is no protection for women against violence from men,” her children said.
“Our mother tried to get intervention from the cops before this, and but because nobody physically saw him breaking in and nobody saw him slashing her tyres, the police couldn’t arrest him.
“Our mother was a victim of crime and an inadequate justice system,” Daylan said.
Joanne said they wished they could reverse the hands of time and save their mother from a gruesome death.
“It wasn’t in our mother’s nature to take the law into her own hands, and we are so proud of her for trying to stand up for herself by following what the law required her to do.
“She did what she could as a citizen to protect herself, but that ultimately failed her,” Joanne said.
The siblings said they believed Bradley had been harassing their mother for longer than she had revealed, but she only told them of his threats two weeks before her death.
They described their mother as a hardworking and loving woman who was fully involved with her café, which she opened in 2013.
“We are heartbroken. This proves the high level of domestic violence and abuse against women in our society.”
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said while details surrounding Staude’s death were still being investigated, a murder and suicide case had been opened.
She will be laid to rest on Tuesday. The funeral service will be at the Quigney Calvary Church at 12pm.
lThe Staude family expressed their concern about DispatchLive publishing the name of the deceased before all next of kin had been notified of her death.
Daily Dispatch understands the concern, and deeply regrets the error.
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Staude lost her life when her estranged boyfriend, Brian Bradley, went into the premises of her popular cafe demanding to speak to her. When she asked him to leave the shop, he shot her in the face and then turned the gun on himself.
Both Staude and Bradley died on the scene.
Staude’s death has sent shockwaves across the East London and East Coast community.
When the Dispatch visited the Staude family yesterday, her children, Daylan and Joanne Staude, were still distraught and in shock at the loss of their mother.
The siblings revealed that only a few hours before her tragic death, Staude had been in court trying to get a protection order against Bradley.
They expressed their disappointment at the justice system for failing their mother.
“Our justice system has failed us. Our mother died at the hands of her abusive lover.
“No amount of effort from her side was enough to save her life,” they said.
Daylan said they were struggling to come to terms with the loss of their mother.
“We’re still dealing with a flood of emotions. How do you cope with losing a loved one? We’re an incredibly small family, so now there’s a missing piece.”
The siblings said that their mother’s tumultuous five-year relationship with Bradley had come to an end when she broke up with him a few months prior to the shooting.
“She kicked him out of the property that she owned and shared with him after the breakup, and that’s when the harassment began.”
Daylan said Staude revealed to them earlier this month that Bradley had threatened to kill her, saying she would be “dead in three months”.
He said in the last two weeks leading up to her death, Bradley had slashed Staude’s car tyres and broken into her home.
On Sunday evening, he had parked his car outside Staude’s home all night, watching her through her bedroom window.
The siblings revealed that it was Staude’s 58th birthday on Monday, but she had spent the day in court getting a restraining order against the man who would, within hours, kill her.
“She spent her last day getting protection against the man who shot her the very next day.
“This shows that there is no protection for women against violence from men,” her children said.
“Our mother tried to get intervention from the cops before this, and but because nobody physically saw him breaking in and nobody saw him slashing her tyres, the police couldn’t arrest him.
“Our mother was a victim of crime and an inadequate justice system,” Daylan said.
Joanne said they wished they could reverse the hands of time and save their mother from a gruesome death.
“It wasn’t in our mother’s nature to take the law into her own hands, and we are so proud of her for trying to stand up for herself by following what the law required her to do.
“She did what she could as a citizen to protect herself, but that ultimately failed her,” Joanne said.
The siblings said they believed Bradley had been harassing their mother for longer than she had revealed, but she only told them of his threats two weeks before her death.
They described their mother as a hardworking and loving woman who was fully involved with her café, which she opened in 2013.
“We are heartbroken. This proves the high level of domestic violence and abuse against women in our society.”
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said while details surrounding Staude’s death were still being investigated, a murder and suicide case had been opened.
She will be laid to rest on Tuesday. The funeral service will be at the Quigney Calvary Church at 12pm.
lThe Staude family expressed their concern about DispatchLive publishing the name of the deceased before all next of kin had been notified of her death.
Daily Dispatch understands the concern, and deeply regrets the error.
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