Hazel Crane

Infobox Person
name = Hazel Elizabeth Crane


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birth_name = Hazel Elizabeth Magee
birth_date = Born. 1951
birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland
death_date = Died. 10th November 2003
death_place = Abbotsford, Gauteng
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death_cause = Murder
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nationality = IrishFact|date=September 2008
ethnicity = White
citizenship = Ireland,Zimbabwe, South Africa
other_names =
known_for = Prominent socialite in Northern Johannesburg, and murder victim.
education = Evelyn Girls' High
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occupation = Socialite, Businesswoman,Memoirist.
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partner = Shai Avissar (estranged), Anthony Crane (killed in combat)
children = 2 with Crane
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Hazel Crane (1951–2003) was a prominent socialite, businesswoman and posthumous memoirist in South Africa. She was assasinated on the 10th of November in 2003 near her mansion home in the plush Northern Johannesburg suburb of Abbotsford, the same suburb where controversial mining magnate Brett Kebble was murdered later in 2005 [IOL 13 November 2003 : [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20050928133102694C303483 Kebble and Hazel Crane murdered in same area ] ] . Crane was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and emigrated to the then Rhodesia as a child and later to South Africa in adult life. In South Africa she was involved in several philanthropic committees and projects, such as the educational sponsorship of poor students.

Personal life

Crane was previously married to a White Rhodesian man, Anthony Crane although tragically he was killed at age 25 in combat in the Rhodesian Bush War. The couple already had one child, and at the time of her husband's death, Crane was pregnant with their second child.cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/High-society-rocked-by-the-shady-past-of-one-of-its-own/2004/12/23/1103391892184.html| title=High society rocked by the shady past of one of its own| publisher=The Age| date =24-12-2004]

She later had a tumultuous marriage with alleged Israeli mafia boss Shai Avissar, at the time of his murder in 1999, the couple were estranged.

She was a close friend of Winnie Mandela, who attended her funeral and was the chief witness in her wedding to Avissar. Crane accompanied Mandela during her hearings before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Death and legacy

Crane was shot dead in her car in November 2003, while travelling to the Johannesburg High Court to attend the trial of alleged Israeli mafia member Lior Saat, accused of murdering Crane's estranged husband near Sunninghill, Gauteng in 1999 [cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1443209,00.html | title=Socialite dies after shooting | publisher=News24 |date=10-11-2003] . Crane had been travelling with a female companion, who was shot in the hand, but police determined that the incident was a "direct attack" on Crane's life, who was shot in the head, leg, chest and arm. [News24 10 November 2003 : [http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1443216,00.html Crane: 'Direct attack on her life'] ] It later emerged that Crane had been expected to testify in the murder case against Saat and a source close to Crane said that she knew too much, being able to identify and implicate a number of figures in the Saat murder case [News24 13 November 2003 : [http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1444520,00.html Hazel knew too much] ] . She was the third state witness in the Saadt murder trial to be murdered; Julio Bascelli was shot in the head in a deserted garage soon after Avassi's death in 1999 and Carol Binne was shot dead at the Gecko Lounge, a Johannesburg nightclub, in April 2001 [The Observer 16 November 2003 : [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/nov/16/southafrica.andrewmeldrum1 Israeli gangsters blamed for murder of Winnie's friend ] ] . Prior to her death, Crane was working with an British journalist, David Kray on her memoirs. The biography titled "Hazel Crane: Testimony from Beyond the Grave"cite book|year=2004|first=David |last=Kray|first=Hazel|last=Crane| title=Hazel Crane: Testimony from Beyond the Grave|publisher=New Africa Books] received a posthumous release in 2004 and contained several shocking details about the socialite's colourful past. The book details Crane's own secret life of crime. She made her fortune by smuggling diamonds and emeralds, making blackmarket currency deals, owning a striptease joint and selling hard-core pornography. She also tells of how she would tuck emeralds into her beehive hairdo or pack them into her son's nappies for smuggling. Prior to a crime career, she trained as a fully fledged State Registered Nurse in the then Rhodesia and in later life was an active businesswoman. During her time in Rhodesia as a diamond smuggler, she developed a powerful team of Johannesburg associates who paid her in South African Rands, much needed foreign currency in sanction-hit UDI Rhodesia, and ploughed her wealth into legitimate businesses including the successful restaurant, Copa Cobana, one of the most popular and fashionable meeting places in Rhodesia.

References

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3723895.stm Israel struggles to keep lid on crime]

ee also

*Whites in Zimbabwe
*Whites in South Africa
*Crime in South Africa