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Stabbed mother saw daughter's talent triumph
Aline Nassif16 Feb 2009
A mother who was stabbed to death had seen her daughter reach the finals of her school's talent show the night before she was killed, it emerged today.
Mother-of-two Varsha Champaclal was attacked while she was at work at clothing store Peacocks in Mitcham. Air ambulance paramedics tried to save the 43-year-old supervisor's life but she died at the scene from stab wounds to her neck and chest on Friday.
Today tributes poured in for the woman "with a permanent smile on her face".
A 47-year-old man, understood to be her husband, has been arrested in connection with the killing.
Family friend Carol Feak said Ms Champaclal spent the last 24 hours of her life overjoyed after seeing her youngest daughter, Dolly, 10, dancing at Liberty Primary School.
Ms Feak, whose daughter Leanne is a classmate of Dolly's, said: "Dolly had reached the finals of the school's annual talent show in a dancing group - she was an incredibly bright and talented little girl.
"Varsha was sitting in the audience, without her husband, and she was glowing with pride when Dolly went on stage.
"Varsha was the sweetest woman - she had a permanent smile on her face."
Ms Champaclal's eldest daughter is believed to be in her mid-teens.
Dozens of bouquets and cards of sympathy were laid against Peacocks' shop window, where Ms Champaclal worked for more than 10 years, and which remained closed.
Regular customer Louise Weaver, 52, said: "Varsha was a proud mum and did everything for [her children]. Varsha was the breadwinner in the family and she worked long and hard to make ends meet.
"She was so proud of those girls and even though she was a private woman and didn't talk about her family life in detail, her kids were her world.
"I've known her for 15 years but I don't know when she settled in this country - I think she was from Mauritius.
"I can't stop crying, I'm sorry I've lost her as a friend."
Supermarket worker Kris Morthy saw Ms Champaclal only two hours before she died.
He said: "She came in to make a price query at 11.30am. She would always pop in at lunchtime. Everyone around here knew her well. She was such a lovely lady, always smiling."
The pedestrianised shopping parade in Majestic Way was busy when Ms Champaclal was killed at about 1.20pm.
Frances Laurence, who witnessed the aftermath of the killing, said: "Someone in the crowd said they had seen the woman lying in a pool of blood.
"They said staff members tried to revive her but no one could save her.
"Police were everywhere and shortly after an ambulance arrived, an air ambulance landed on the green.
"But I knew it was all over when I caught sight of one of the paramedics shaking his head at the police, signalling that she was dead."
A Met spokesman said "she had taken out a non-molestation order" - a civil court order to stop the applicant being assaulted and preventing the subject going within a certain distance of them.
Anyone with information should telephone police on 020 8721 4205 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
