Sarah, a university student who has been working in her mother’s clothing shop, “looks frail,” says Celhar-Hili, who is a long-time friend of Karen’s. “She is a beautiful person. She said they are having a hard time and her dad is copping a lot. They were both very emotional.”
Fashion boutique owner Karen, 47, disappeared on June 29, last year, after an apparent “disagreement” with her husband Borce. Borce, who is the “No. 1 suspect,” according to his lawyer, Rob Stary, told police she left to “clear her head” after an argument over money.
Celhar-Hili, 48, heard the news of Karen’s disappearance via a message from Sarah on June 30. She immediately called Sarah, who was too distraught to talk and handed the phone to her father.
“I said, ‘Did you have a disagreement?’ And he said, ‘Yeah,’ ” Celhar-Hili tells WHO. “I just thought Karen must have gone somewhere to cool down and she’ll be back.”
It was a hope Karen’s family and friends desperately clung to for nearly nine months, but which crumbled, tragically, on Feb. 21, when the remains found in Macedon Regional Park were identified as Karen’s.
Now, devastated loved ones are left to pick up the pieces in a mystery that has gripped a nation and divided a family.
“We always wanted closure, but it’s hard to deal with,” Marguerite Knight, Karen’s aunt, tells WHO through tears. “I always go back to the last time the family were together in March. No-one would have ever seen this coming.”
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