Jessielee Booth was found in a Brookfield house on Friday. Photo / Facebook
Jessielee Booth was found in a Brookfield house on Friday. Photo / Facebook
Jessielee Booth was a woman who was always smiling and would light up a room.
Having worked at Tauranga's PBT for about two years, Booth had spent recent months enjoying time off with her new baby.
The 30-year-old loved her job and was believed to be heading back to workonce her maternity leave ended.
But she would never return.
Instead, friends and family have been in mourning after she was found dead in a Lynwood Place house last week, having lain in the Brookfield home for several days. Yesterday she was farewelled at a service in Auckland attended by friends and family.
One of those attending was close friends, Alisha Koberstein, who was devastated by the shocking death.
"Jessie was the most generous and caring friend you could have ever asked for, no matter when or why ... if you needed her she was always there," Koberstein said.
Police were called to Booth's home on Friday and were treating her death as a "domestic incident". Police said she may have been dead for "a couple of days" before she was found.
Booth was the partner of Anthony Fane, the man gunned down by police during a pursuit on Thursday night. He was a suspect in the double murder of two men two days earlier at McLaren Falls.
Anthony Fane partner of Jessielee Booth. Photo / Facebook
A police spokeswoman yesterday said they could not comment on why the woman's body had not been found earlier but confirmed her death remains under investigation.
Koberstein had many fond memories of Booth that she would cherish forever.
"I think back to when I lived next door to her in Ōtūmoetai a couple of years back and she would always put on the most awesomest feeds, I would sit in the corner waiting for her and others to get in first for a plate and she'd tell me 'don't be shy girl, dig in!'.
"From lost netball games to a late-night glass of wine discussing our work troubles or my constant apologising for my dogs digging under the fence into her yard, she was always her happy and kind self."
Knowing that her children would grow up without their parents was heartbreaking, Koberstein said.
"She was the most amazing mother, her daughter and son came first above all else and she loved them beyond measure. Life will never be the same without her, I will forever cherish her memory."
Danielle Clayton did not know Booth's partner but had known her for about two years, having worked with her at PBT. She remembers her as someone who was "always smiling" and would light up every room she was in.
"I worked with Jess, she's just a beautiful soul, such a great smile, such an amazing lady," Clayton says.
Clayton learned of Booth's death on Saturday morning from a work colleague and like everyone else, she was in shock.
She says a few people from her work were heading up to Auckland for Booth's funeral while others were planning a small private gathering to remember her this weekend.
"It's a very sad situation."
Booth had been on maternity leave since about September or October but Clayton believed she had planned to return to work.
"She loved being at work.
"She worked hard to support her family."
Clayton said she would always remember Booth as someone who was always smiling and happy, "even the days she wasn't feeling so good".
"I just remember her and her smile ... she was always smiling and really passionate."
That's how Bridge Mani, a long-time friend of both Booth, will remember her also.
"She was just an awesome lady, I can hear her voice in my head," Mani said.
She met both Fane and Booth about 10 years ago while living in Rotorua and working in a packhouse in Te Puke.
"We just hit it off, she's an awesome lady, down to earth."
"And her laugh, you know it just makes you laugh because she's got one of those laughs that you laugh harder because of her laugh."
Booth eventually joined them at work and they would all travel from Rotorua to work together. She spent a lot of time with the couple before they moved to Tauranga in the early 2010s and described them as "an awesome couple to be around".
"When I had my son, going over to their house and just catching up and just having a good relationship with both of them, like they were both a big part in our lives," she said of her memories with Booth and Fane.
She spent a lot of time with Booth before she moved to Tauranga in the early 2010s and said she was a big part of her life.
After learning of Booth's death Mani started looking at the last messages they shared.
"The last message she had messaged me was one of those ones you forward on to people saying like 'I love you, let's make this year be the year, I know we don't talk but just know that you know, we still love you' and stuff like that, which was sad to see," Mani said.
Mani, who works for PBT in Rotorua, said it had been a few years since they caught up but had planned to get together at the end of last year at a work event.
out sad I hate this lump I have in my body its not fair, I will never forget you my friend I'm sorry this happened to you, I can't get over this, I love you girl," one user said. "Sad alright Jessielee far out girl rip jessie were all in shock here," another said. "RIP -a beautiful soul taken through absolute tragic circumstances."
