The murder of Jastine Valdez not only shocked the people of Ireland, but the entire world. However, her untimely passing was felt most by her loving family.
Months since their daughter’s horrifying death, the Valdez family have thanked the people of Ireland for their constant support.
The family opened up about the tragedy in an interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Radio 1.
Jastine’s mum Tess said she had a horrible feeling when her daughter didn’t return home at her normal time: “There was this gut feeling inside me, I knew that something was wrong, something terribly wrong had happened.”
"When she didn't come home around 7.30pm I knew," she added.
Tess and Danny Valdez, the parents of Jastine Valdez, who was murdered in Enniskerry on the 19th of May joined @MiriamOCal on @TodaySOR to tell us about their daughter, and to thank the Irish people for the support they have received.
— RTÉ Radio 1 (@RTERadio1) August 29, 2018
Listen back here: https://t.co/AhWAbCAlve pic.twitter.com/trNnvbVVPh
Jastine was murdered by Mark Hennessy, however, no motive has yet been uncovered. He lost his life when he was shot by the police during the investigation.
“We felt bad that he was killed straight away, quite quickly. We wanted to find out what was running in his head, we wanted to know more about why,” the family admitted.
"We were quite disappointed that he was killed.”
"Whatever was going on in his mind was only in his mind and it's not for us to blame Ireland, Ireland has been good to us,” they continued.
The strength of Jastine Valdez’s family is truly courageous.
The public have been offering their words of support since the interview aired this morning. "Terribly sad listening to the parents of Jastine Valdez. So hard to contemplate such a vast and all encompassing loss as a parent."
"I hope they can build a new life in Ireland and they can get the support they need to move forward," another user wrote.
