Slain Morningside pensioner, William Daly, is to be laid to rest with his beloved dogs, which have been put down.
|||Durban - Murdered Morningside pensioner, William (Bill) Daly, is to be laid to rest with his beloved dogs, Wendy and Suzy, which have been put down because he could not bear to be without them.
Daly, 89, whose family founded the fruit cordial company, W Daly & Son, was killed at his home on Monday afternoon in a suspected robbery.
He was the grandson of the founder of the company.
Daly’s body was found on a pathway outside the house he was born in, with his feet and hands bound and a rag stuffed in his mouth. It is believed he was strangled.
Daly’s niece, Pat Lee, said her uncle had been opposed to moving into a retirement home because it would have meant being away from his fox terrier and Maltese poodle.
Lee said she had the dogs put down on Monday. They will be cremated and the ashes buried with Daly on Friday.
On the day of the murder, the dogs were locked inside the house as her uncle prepared to make his routine Monday morning trip to the bank to deposit his church’s Sunday tithes, she said.
Before the dogs were killed, they were given their dinner and treats.
Lee said she decided to put them down because “they loved him (Daly). They could have never had another owner. He would never have wanted to be apart from them”.
Daly’s great-nephew, Chris Lyle, said Wendy and Suzy were like Daly’s children. “Old Bill was born in that house and died there because he would not leave his babies (dogs),” he said.
His great uncle was the third generation of Dalys living in the Maple Road home.
Said Lyle: “I’m still trying to make sense of what happened. It’s really hard, I’m angry more than sad.”
A note with Daly’s photo, and a picture of a vintage car like the four he owned, has been placed outside his home.
It reads: “RIP Dear Bill, sweet, kind gentle gentleman. May the angels be with you and your family at this sad time. Your Anerley Road community will miss you, the chats and your cars so much.”
Daily News