A widower took his life, following depression over the death of his wife five years ago.
|||Five years ago, Sergeant Henderik Heinz lost his wife in a car crash, leaving him to raise his two teenage children.
On Saturday, a week before Christmas, Heinz, 38, allegedly ended his life by shooting himself in the head – as his children walked up the driveway of their Richards Bay home after visiting their maternal grandparents.
On Tuesday, his distraught mother, Doreen, said her son had been battling to deal with the death of his wife, Antoinette, and being a single father to his children, aged 19 and 17. Coupled with the stress of his job, she said, he had reached the end of the road.
“After Antoinette died, Henderik battled to get along. But he managed to find his feet. He always said to me he was stressed at work. I encouraged him to get professional help. I never expected him to kill himself.”
She said his funeral service was expected to take place on Christmas eve.
“They were visiting their (maternal) grandparents and had just returned home when they heard a gunshot. They ran inside the house and found their father dead in the bathroom. It was not a pleasant sight for them.”
With more than 15 years’ service under his belt, Heinz was a member of the Richards Bay Operation Response Services. His commander, Colonel Kobus Olivier, said Heinz had been devastated by the death of his wife but had shown not signs of wanting to end his life.
KZN police confirmed the incident and said there would be an inquest. Foul play is not suspected. - Daily News