Mother of murdered cub scout Noah Smith is still searching for answers trends now
A grieving mother says she is still looking for answers, five years after her son was murdered by his father on holiday in South Africa.
Noah Smith had travelled to Johannesburg with Dr Vuyo Tame for Christmas and new year celebrations at the end of 2017, but the nine-year-old cub scout never made it home to the UK.
Staff at the four-star Radisson Blu hotel in the city found them both dead in their room on January 8, 2018.
Noah, from Burham, near Maidstone, Kent, had been poisoned by an over-the-counter drug and possibly smothered with a pillow, before Tame shot himself with a pistol, an inquest heard.
Noah Smith had travelled to Johannesburg with Dr Vuyo Tame for Christmas and new year celebrations at the end of 2017, but the nine-year-old cub scout never made it home to the UK
Noah's mother Vicky is still looking for closure, five years on from the tragedy
Coroner Ian Wade was told how South African authorities had allegedly bungled the investigation, reporting that Noah had bruising round his neck consistent with strangulation - a claim disputed by British detectives.
Noah's mother is desperate for closure, but has been warned a backlog of homicide cases in South Africa means it may be a decade before police reach conclusion.
Vicky Smith told MailOnline how she is still waiting for toxicology results and of her frustration in trying to get updates from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCO).
She said: 'They're meant to be there for you but all you get is empty promises with nothing behind them.
'A post-mortem was carried out at the time but I still haven't had a death certificate.
'I don't think it'll show anything different – if it did, they might have to re-open the inquest.
'I want answers and I want closure but I don't want the trauma of having to go through that again.'
