Crane: 'Direct attackon her life'

2003-11-10 13:21

Johannesburg - Police say the attack on socialite Hazel Crane was a direct attack on her life.

The estranged wife of slain Israeli diamond dealer Shai Avissar was shot to death on Monday while driving to the Johannesburg High Court to testify in the trial of an Israeli charged with her husband's murder, police said.

Crane was accompanied by a friend, who was wounded in the attack.

"An unknown male approached and fired six shots at the vehicle," said Police Superintendent Chris Wilken. Crane was shot in the head, chest, leg and arm, and her companion was shot in the arm.

"This was a direct attack on her life," Wilken said.

Police said they had no suspects in Crane's death and no one had been arrested.

Lior Saat, 33, has been charged with the 1999 murder of Crane's estranged husband Shai Avissar, who was found battered to death. Saat was also charged with intimidating Crane by allegedly holding a gun to her head.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a close friend of Crane, previously offered Crane her support by accompanying her to the trial.

The ex-wife of former President Nelson Mandela was not with Crane at the time of the attack, police said.

Saat is challenging the jurisdiction of the South African courts to try him. An alleged member of the Israeli mafia, Saat was captured at the border with Mozambique and brought to South Africa to face trial, the South African Press Association reported.

Two years ago, Saat himself was wounded in a drive-by shooting while being transported to court from police cells.

- AFP