JOHOR BARU: The Samsusah family, devastated and unable to comprehend the tragic loss of their beloved Mila Sharmilah, known affectionately as Bella, remains in a state of profound disbelief.
Their hearts ache as they struggle to accept the horrifying reality that Bella was brutally taken from them by her own boyfriend who she befriended for seven months.
ALSO READ: Boyfriend charged in Batu Pahat with murdering single-mum Bella
Reflecting on their cherished memories, Bella's elder sister, Norisham Samsusah, 36, recalls the conversations they shared saying that Bella had expressed her deep longing to embark on a new chapter in Johor Baru, and live with her.
“She had also mentioned her intention of breaking up with her boyfriend.
"Everything happened so fast; we still cannot accept that this has happened to her. The last time we spoke, she told me that she wanted to move into my house during the upcoming school holiday in February.
ALSO READ: Three nabbed after discovery of skeletal remains believed to be Bella
"We suspected that he (Bella's boyfriend) was the person behind her disappearance from the way he spoke and lied.
"Even Bella's eldest son, aged five, told us that he (the boyfriend) always assaulted his mother when they went out together," she said, adding that she will be taking care of Bella's children from now on.
She was speaking to the media after claiming her sister's body at the Sultan Ismail Hospital Forensic Department (mortuary), here, on Wednesday (Jan 24).
Norisham, who works as a school clerk, added that she hopes members of the public will stop creating speculation about her sister's death.
She said that Bella's body will be brought to the Masjid Jamek Dato Bentara Luar in Batu Pahat for funeral prayers before being laid to rest at the Banang Jaya Muslim Cemetery.
"We want to settle everything around the Asar prayer," she said.
ALSO READ: Leave it to police to find missing mum Bella, family and public urged
Earlier, a former postman was charged in the Magistrate's Court here on Wednesday (Jan 24) with the murder of his girlfriend in Tongkang Pechah here last month.
Mohammad Haikal Mahfuz, 25, was charged with murdering Bella, 32, between 11pm on Dec 14 and 5.30am on Dec 15 last year between Jalan Kelapa Bali, Taman Soga and Jalan Parit Besar, Kampung Parit Besar, and also at an abandoned house at Lorong Imam Jailani, Jalan Besar, Tongkang Pechah, Batu Pahat.
The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the death penalty.
On Dec 14, it was reported that Bella, a single mother of two children, could not be contacted after she was last seen leaving the house in her boyfriend's car wearing only a dark blue caftan to do laundry at a laundromat.
On Friday, an incomplete human skeleton was found in an abandoned house at Lorong Imam Jailani, Batu Pahat, after one of the arrested suspects led the police to the scene.
