'She was taken in such a horrible way': Family of Singapore woman killed in Spain opens up about their loss

SINGAPORE: When Ms Audrey Fang's brother and cousin were making their way to Spain to look for her, the last thing on their minds was that she had been killed.

"We imagined everything ... (her killing) never crossed our minds," said her cousin, who wanted to be known only as Ms See.

"We thought maybe she was in hospital ... honestly, even worst-case scenario – we thought she may have fallen, hit her head."

They expected to drive around hospitals in Spain to look for Ms Fang, who had been uncontactable.

"We're just very sad and horrified that she was taken in such a horrible way," said her brother Benjamin Fang, 35.

On Apr 9, while on a solo trip to Spain, 39-year-old Audrey Fang left her belongings in her hotel and was never heard from again. 

Her body was found with 30 stab wounds near a parking area for lorries in the town of Abanilla.

A preliminary autopsy report found that knife wounds and head trauma were the cause of her death, reported Spanish media outlet La Verdad de Murcia.

Speaking to the media on Monday (Apr 22), Ms See and Mr Fang described Ms Fang as the life of the party and a generous older sister who offered to pay for her brother's wedding.

When their mother died in 2019, she also became the "pillar of strength" for their family, said Mr Fang.

"Especially when my mum left, she took care of me the most," he said, choking up with emotion.

Ms Fang was an architect who worked in a design services company while keeping her late mother's floral business alive.

She had dreamt of retiring early and moving to Bali with her cousin, to live in a home she would personally design.

Her body remains in Spain, and can only be repatriated when an English death certificate and embalming certificate have been issued. That is expected to happen sometime this week, they said.

Mr Fang, Ms See and a family friend Ms Lee Si Hui returned to Singapore on Sunday.

SINGAPOREAN MAN IN REMAND

Ms Fang's relatives said they wanted people to know how "brutal" the killer was, as they described severe damage to her face.

The suspect, named as Mitchell Ong by local news outlet La Verdad de Murcia, was arrested in Alicante on Apr 16. He appeared in court last Friday.

Ong reportedly owned several local businesses and lived in a condominium in Bukit Timah, according to Singapore news platform 8World. The report also said he got married in 2012.

His Instagram account features pictures at raves overseas and of him in various gyms. The last picture posted on his Instagram account was of him at a comic store in Alicante.

Mr Fang said he had never heard of Ong and did not know what kind of relationship his sister had with the suspect.

"It's still quite ambiguous to us," he added.

Ms Fang kept things vague, only telling her family that she would be meeting a friend in Spain. When Mr Fang probed further, she said the friend was a former colleague. 

After she stopped responding, her family called up companies she had worked for to try to find out who she might have been meeting.

"The only person who had a property in Spain was still in Singapore, so we ruled that colleague out. That's when we started to get a bit nervous," he said.

Spanish news outlet Levante El Mercantil Valenciano reported that local police have proven that Ong's and Ms Fang's mobile phones were together in Abanilla on the day she died.

Ong's motive could have been "economic", the report said, adding that Ms Fang had reportedly transferred money to an unidentified third person.

Mr Fang said his family has been unable to verify this due to privacy laws in Singapore preventing him from accessing information about his sister's bank account.

Their lawyer in Spain said that Ong's trial could take a year or more. While Ms Fang's clothes and other belongings have been returned to the family, her electronic devices have been held for investigations.

"In the meantime, we're going to ask more friends and family if they've seen this person, if they know of any relationship ... if anybody knows anything about this guy," he said. 

"I SHOULD HAVE GONE WITH HER TO SPAIN"

Mr Fang joked that growing up, he and his sister had the same life mission – to make each others' lives difficult.

"My sister likes to steal my ice cream," he said when asked about fond memories of their childhood. 

But she was also a very good older sister who would read to him.

He said Ms Fang was closer to Ms See, who she was going to travel with to Japan in end-April.

"She's very private to me, she talks more to my cousin, they go out for lunches on weekends," he said.

Even then, Ms See said Ms Fang kept some things close to her heart or may have been willing to share more with friends rather than family.

"We had questions about her (Spain) trip, but the fact remains that when she checked in, she sent us videos of her luxurious resort. She was happy," Ms See said, adding that this was the type of holiday Ms Fang enjoyed.

She said Ms Fang was the kindest in their extended family and always had a defence ready when people complained about other family members.

"Now I'm also missing a travel companion," said Ms See. "After COVID, both of us were going crazy, we went to Bali, just the two of us.

"Sometimes I think I should have gone with her to Spain too."

Mr Fang said his father, who is 67, is not taking the news well.

"We hope he can get past this as soon as possible," said Mr Fang. "We still need to receive my sister when she comes home."

Mr Fang will take charge of the family's floral business and hopes his father can continue working there to occupy his mind.

Some of their relatives have also not been able to function properly since hearing about Ms Fang.

"They don't know how to cope with it ... It's something they still can't grasp," he said.