KZN Woman Murdered Abroad After System Ignored Her Warnings
By KZNDaily.News
The brutal murder of 27-year-old Leigh-Anne McKenzie, a woman born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, has sparked outrage across two continents as fresh details emerge about how her cries for help were ignored before she was killed by the very man she feared.
Leigh-Anne, who had relocated to the United States for work and a new start, was murdered in Brazil just one day after arriving there. Her killer: the same man she had reported for a violent assault months earlier in Houston, Texas.
Her family is now appealing for help to bring her body home to South Africa so they can bury her with dignity in the province she once called home.
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A Promising Life Cut Short
Originally from KwaZulu-Natal, Leigh-Anne moved to Houston, Texas in 2023, seeking new opportunities. She met Ian Alexander Bruder Hay that same year. Their brief relationship ended in horror after he reportedly assaulted her, held her captive, and threatened to kill her.
On a GoFundMe page created in December last year, Leigh-Anne described the ordeal in chilling detail.
“On October 31, I was assaulted, held captive and threatened with death,” she wrote. “I suffered three spinal fractures as well as a laceration to my right temple. He told me numerous times that he was going to kill me.”
She managed to escape after Hay passed out with a rifle in his arms. She was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and began her long recovery while pleading publicly for justice. Despite this, her attacker was granted bail.
Just weeks later, he disappeared.
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Justice Denied in Texas
Court records from Harris County show that Ian Hay, 30, was released on a R950,000 bond on November 21, 2024. Despite being a two-time convicted felon—once for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon—he was not placed under strict surveillance.
Ten days after his release, Hay fled to Brazil, where he held dual citizenship. He never returned for his January court date and was soon declared a fugitive.
Critics have called this a failure of the justice system. “This is just another situation in which we’re treating someone, as a domestic violence victim, as somebody who didn’t merit the strictest and toughest bond conditions,” said Andy Kahan, director of victim services at Crime Stoppers Houston.
Final Journey Ends in Brazil
Leigh-Anne arrived in Brazil on July 18, 2025. Within 24 hours, she was dead.
Brazilian police were called to a high-rise apartment in Curitiba after neighbours reported blood stains in a nearby unit. Officers discovered two bodies slumped over the bed: Hay and Leigh-Anne.
Magda Hofstaetter, homicide chief at Paraná State Police, confirmed the cause of death as a murder-suicide. “Neighbours heard gunshots but thought they were fireworks,” she told local media.
Inside the apartment, police found a 9mm pistol, drugs, hundreds of used syringes, and multiple high-capacity magazines.
The KZN woman murdered had only just started to rebuild her life when she walked into a trap.
“We Failed Her Twice”
Leigh-Anne’s mother, devastated by the news, confirmed that her daughter had travelled to Brazil voluntarily but did not disclose the nature of their contact before the trip. Police in Brazil say there’s no evidence Hay coerced her to come, but a full forensic investigation is still underway.
Back in Houston, Judge DaSean Jones—who approved Hay’s release—has not responded to public criticism over the lenient bail conditions.
Her family, friends, and those who supported her recovery are united in grief and frustration. “She told the court what he was capable of. She wrote it for the world to see. Why didn’t they listen?” said a close friend in Durban.
Help Bring Leigh-Anne Home
Now, her loved ones are faced with an even heavier burden—bringing her remains back to South Africa. A BackaBuddy campaign launched by her family has so far raised just over R6,700, far from the R120,000 needed for repatriation and funeral costs.
“We are now facing the overwhelming task of bringing her body back home to South Africa so that she can be laid to rest with dignity,” the family wrote. “Every contribution—no matter how small—will help.”
The campaign organisers are also urging the public to share the fundraising link, even if they cannot donate.
The Tragic Silence After the Storm
For many, Leigh-Anne McKenzie’s death has become a painful symbol of the cost of institutional failure. A KZN woman was murdered after doing everything she was supposed to: reporting her attacker, writing publicly about the danger she was in, and surviving one of the worst kinds of violence.
Yet, it wasn’t enough.
Her story echoes the experiences of many women across the globe who are failed not just by their abusers, but by the systems meant to protect them.
There was a moment when Leigh-Anne believed she would survive. Her words are still online, haunting in hindsight: “I thought I wasn’t going to get out alive.”
This time, she didn’t.
📌 To support the family’s efforts to bring Leigh-Anne home, visit the BackaBuddy page and share her story.
https://backabuddy.co.za/campaign/repatriation-of-leigh-anne-mckenzie
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