FEAR has gripped the Mulomulo community in Nadi, close to where murdered Russian couple Yuri Shipulin and Nataliya Gerasimova used to live.
Mostly made up of Fijians of Indian descent, members of the community described the couple as very friendly, adding they were shocked to find out about their fate in the media.
Body parts belonging to the couple were found along Natadola beach, between Sigatoka and Nadi, five days after they were reported missing on June 17.
And four days after their vehicle was discovered on the same beach, just metres away from where the body parts were found.
Last week, a New Zealand couple found a human head on the same beach. Police and military officers have been combing the Natadola area, on land and in nearby waters, and have said they would not comment any further until investigations were completed.
But amid the media frenzy and rumours that police have warned against, the lives of families, especially women and children in the Mulomulo area have changed dramatically.
“We have been living here for more than 10 years and this is the first time something like this has ever happened in our area,” said 32-year-old mechanic Mohammed Maiyur.
Mr Maiyur lives with his elderly mother, his wife and three children who are all in primary school. Their home is just a few minutes away from the Russian couple’s farm.
“I work as a mechanic and usually in the past when there were breakdowns, I came home late. But since this has happened, my family has always asked me to come home early. So now when there’s a breakdown, I can’t work late. I try to make it home before dark every day.”
Mr Maiyur said like other families in the area, they were always on high alert especially at night.
“Whenever there’s a sound at night or if the dogs are barking, my wife and mother and especially the children get alarmed. It has been a frightening experience for us, especially learning about the couple who we had grown to know over the years.”
Sharing the same sentiments was Munaf Ali, who lives in the same area with his wife and daughter-in-law.
He said although they were never personally acquainted with Mr Shipulin and his partner, what they saw was enough to regard them as friendly.
“They never hassled anyone,” said Mr Ali.
“Many times if they drove past and we were walking towards the main road or towards home, they would stop and give us a lift.
“If they drove past our homes and there were children playing there, they would always greet them and wave. We are very shocked that something like this has happened.
“Everyone in this community is scared.
“This is a peaceful community and we never expected something like this to happen in our own back yard.
“It’s good that we have the police here and we believe they will catch the culprit.”
The Fiji Times West team visited the Russian couple’s home yesterday to find it under police guard.
In their latest statement released this week, police reiterated that Fiji was still a peace-loving country and, like other countries, serious crimes do happen because there were elements in society that involved themselves in these types of activities.
Police chief of intelligence and investigations ACP Luke Navela has said they would not provide any further comments as they would like to protect the integrity of investigations.
