Friends find elderly man’s bloodied body

An elderly Abbotsford man was found dead in his townhouse in a secure estate at the weekend.

Steve Audie, a resident of the upmarket Riverside Lifestyle Estate in Abbotsford, was found on Saturday morning by close friends Shiree Evans and her husband Phillip.

Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Evans, who was still in a state of shock, recalled how they stumbled across their friend’s bloody body lying on the bathroom floor.

“There was so much blood inside the house,” she said.

The couple had gone to check on Audie after a friend had called saying she was unable to get hold of him.

“When we got to the house we went around the back and when we got inside we saw a lot of blood and Steve’s body lying on the floor.

“We called the police,” said Evans, adding her husband – best friends with Audie for more than a decade – was admitted to hospital with shock.

She described Audie as a loving and funny person. “No one deserves to die like that. I hope they find whoever did this,” she said.

Messages of shock and condolence were shared on Facebook.

Shazzie Geldenhuys was emotional and hurt. “I cannot imagine what the family and friends must be going through,” posted Geldenhuys.

Millicent Nel Cook asked: “Who was so sick to do this?” An angry Lee Boucher wrote: “I hope they get the bastards and make them suffer for what they have done!”

The estate’s property sales consultant, Liam Victor, said the incident had come as a shock to everyone. “We were close to each other and we knew each other very well here. His death has shocked us,” said Victor.

This was the first incident of this nature in the complex.

“We have 24-hour security here and not even a case of theft or anything was ever reported,” he said.

Attempts to reach Audie’s family members were unsuccessful at the time of writing yesterday.

When a Daily Dispatch team visited the estate yesterday, a security guard at the main entrance recorded every person and vehicle entering.

The team were even asked to write the reason for the visit and unit number they were visiting.

Police tape was still visible outside Audie’s unit. A neighbour said she heard about the incident but didn’t have much information.

“We are gobsmacked.

“Police should have more information around this, they can assist you further,” said Victor.

The matter was reported to Beacon Bay police station, but when contacted for comment, East London police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mtati Tana could not confirm the murder.

Tana said he was no longer allowed to speak to the Dispatch and instead referred queries to the provincial police office, who at the time of writing had not responded to the questions sent.