Al-Qalam 
A man who killed a Muslim mother showed no emotion when he made a brief appearance in the Durban Magistrates Court, writes an Al-Qalam reporter.
Grayson James Beare (44) looked broken, lonely and dejected as he shuffled into the dock of Court 10 in the Durban Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Portly and heavily built, Beare is alleged to have knifed to death a Muslim mother of two, Halima Hoosen-Preston, after breaking into her Glenmore, Durban home on June 2. He is also alleged to have stabbed and injured her husband, Sean Preston, and their 14-year-old son. Their 10-year-old daughter escaped unhurt.
Beare faces one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. The National Prosecuting Authority has made it clear that it was opposed to bail.
When he appeared, his lawyer had planned to bring an application before the court to declare Beare mentally unfit to stand trial, but because certain medical documentation was outstanding, the matter was adjourned to August 16.
Sporting a crew-cut and wearing an olive-green shirt, Beare had his head bowed most of the time and appeared to be wrapped in his own thoughts. His face was expressionless as he sat in the dock.
The victim’s family were in court along with a handful of pro-Palestinian activists who said previously they wanted to see justice done.
Grayson Beare is the adopted son of Julian Beare, a business tycoon who is the head of the Beare Group and also the head of the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation.
At the time of the attack, news had spread that Beare had apparently killed Halima Hoosen-Preston because of her support for Palestine. But in a statement released to the media, the woman’s husband, Sean Preston, downplayed that theory, saying it was plainly a criminal matter and should be treated as such.
“I would therefore like to clarify that in as much as the accused has tried to justify his actions, citing comments Halima supposedly made to provoke this heinous crime, from our perspective as a family, this is not a political or religious matter.”
“This is purely a criminal matter, and we want it to be treated as such,” he said.
When he was arrested shortly after the killing, Beare claimed he attacked Halima-Hoosen Preston because she had laughed when his cousins from Israel were killed in the Hamas attack.
But her husband said that story was baseless.
“The accused was, at most, an acquaintance of ours and someone we had last seen in around 2019, so the comments he has made in a video which went viral, are baseless.
“Halima was well-aware of the fact that what’s going on in Palestine has nothing to do with Muslim-Jewish relations, and she enjoyed friendships with individuals from diverse faith backgrounds, including Muslim, Jewish and Christian,” he added.
“In fact, when Halima expressed her views regarding Palestine to her loved ones, she was careful to emphasise that this wasn’t an attack on a singular religion, but rather an attack on humanity.”
The murder had sparked outrage, especially within the Muslim community – and the killing had made international news. It was posted on many pro-Palestinian social media groups across the world.When the proceedings were over, Beare briefly scanned the gallery before police escorted him down to the holding cells below.
