The husband of a young woman killed on their honeymoon says the smile never left his new wife's face during their short time together.
Newlyweds Hayden and Rebecca Stockwell were snorkelling off an island in Fiji when 26-year-old "Becky" was struck and killed by a speeding boat.
Yesterday
a distraught Hayden was too upset to talk to the Herald on Sunday but a statement from her family said Rebecca "died on one of the happiest days in her life".
"Hayden has said that during the tragically short time that they enjoyed their honeymoon together, a smile never left her face, smiling like she had never smiled before. She died on one of the happiest days of her life alongside the man that she loved," Rebecca's family said.
"'The love shared between Rebecca and Hayden was evident for all to see and the last three years were the happiest years of her life."
Mark Crawley is devastated his daughter can no longer join him in North America, where she and Hayden were planning to start a technology business with him.
"She was a really special, beautiful girl. She lived her 26 years to the full and they were planning a great future together," Mark Crawley told the Herald on Sunday yesterday.
Christchurch-born and Blenheim-bred, Rebecca Stockwell graduated from Canterbury University before travelling the world with her father for two years.
She worked with some of the world's biggest global brands, including Coca-Cola and Bacardi-Martini, before returning to Blenheim to work in real estate.
Hayden and Rebecca met more than a decade ago and had been a couple for two years after reuniting at Canterbury University. They married a fortnight ago.
Two days after their Fiji honeymoon began, Rebecca was struck and killed by an aluminium boat while snorkelling off Matamanoa Island. Fiji police and the New Zealand Coroner's Office are investigating her death.
Her family flew to Fiji to bring her body home and funeral will be held on Tuesday.
