Jacqui Purton identified as woman found dead at Campania
The distraught mother of a Tassie mum killed on a rural property has promised to keep her daughter’s memory alive and be her voice “because she no longer has one”.
Tasmania
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THE distraught mother of Jacqui Purton has spoken out about the incident that took the life of her beloved daughter.
Ms Purton’s body was discovered on a rural property about 3.30am on Monday, after emergency services received reports about a woman who had been allegedly run over by a vehicle and sustained serious injuries.
Police are treating the 37-year-old’s death as suspicious and late Tuesday charged a 38-year-old Campania man with murder.
Jacqui’s mother Leanne Walford promised to keep her daughter’s memory alive and be her voice after visiting the morgue to view the body.
“I am going to become an advocate for my daughter,” Ms Walford said, “I’m going to be her voice, because she no longer has one.
“I need her face out there so people know who she was, that she’s not just a statistic,” she said, “I want people to know she was a loving daughter and loving mother.
“I want her face on every newspaper,” Ms Walford said, “I want her to be more than just a news story, she was a loving daughter, a loving sister, and a loving mother.”
“She was just a beautiful person that didn’t deserve to die.”
Ms Purton was a mother of four, with an eldest daughter Shakira and three sons.
“She was a beautiful daughter and a beautiful mother, she loved her horses. She was forever in the horse paddock with her boots on, her flanny shirt and her jeans tending to her horses.
“My proudest moment with her was the birth of Shakira her first child. She’s a loving, doting Mum. She was a beautiful daughter.”
Friends have paid tribute to Ms Purton describing her as one of “the best friends you could ever find”.
Ashleigh Templar said she was still coming to grips with her death.
“Her compassion, dedication and courage was immeasurable,” Ms Templar said. “Losing her has left a huge hole in so many lives. Her children especially.
“Four absolutely amazing kids now without a mother. And boy was she a fantastic mother.
“And now she’s gone.”
Ms Templar said she met her great friend seven years ago when Ms Purton moved to Sorell.
“Our friendship flourished from there. We did everything together for so long.
Ms Templar said her friend always had her in stitches laughing.
“She would ring me randomly because her car died somewhere stupid, it was always for the funniest reasons,” she said.
Ms Templar said the pair had many cherished memories together.
“My favourite would have been when we loaded the horses up and took them to the beach with no planning.
“When we got there we realised she had grabbed the wrong girth for the saddle and it didn’t fit.
“So the whole ride, every time she got off the horse, we would laugh because I had to get my horse to side pass to hers so she could use my saddle to get on her horse.”
Ms Walford said Ms Purton went to Rosetta High School (now known as Montrose Bay High School) and Elizabeth College.
Ms Purton said Ms Walford was a beloved family member.
“She had five sisters, she was loved by every single one of them,” Ms Walford said.
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