The family in Zambia of Deborah Ruse, the wife of a Suffolk butcher who was found murdered in her home last month, has paid tribute to her.
Police found the body of mother-of-four Mrs Ruse, 39, on November 13, shortly after her 37-year-old husband Oliver Ruse, the owner of Ruse & Son butchers in Long Melford, was discovered dead at the bottom of the Parkway multi-storey car park in Bury St Edmunds.
Police are treating the incident as a suspected murder and suicide.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Mrs Ruse, of Park Terrace, Long Melford, had wounds to the head and neck, while Mr Ruse’s death was consistent with injuries sustained from falling from a height.
The pair, who were married in 1998, had been separated at the time of their deaths, and were involved in an acrimonious dispute over where their four daughters would live.
In a statement, Mrs Ruse’s family said:
“It is with great shock and sadness that we, the family of Deborah Wamusheke Mundia Ruse, received the news of her murder in Long Melford, Suffolk, England.
“On Thursday the 13th of November, 2014 Deborah Ruse fondly known as Sheke in Zambia, was found dead in her cottage which she recently moved into whilst on separation from her husband Oliver Ruse.
“Deborah was the second daughter of the late Alex Mundia, a past C.E.O of a number of financial institutions in Zambia including the Zambian National “Building Society and Lima Bank and also employed by the World Bank in Zambia; and Gertrude Mundia, restaurant owner and business woman in Lusaka.
“Deborah attended her primary education at the prestigious Nkwazi Primary School now known as Nkwazi Trust school and went on to complete her secondary “education at Mpelembe Trust School an exclusive school, reserved for those attaining a certain level of academic excellence.
“She went on to pursue a law degree at the exclusive Buckingham University in England.
“Deborah met Oliver Ruse whilst working part-time at Gap Stores on Oxford street in London where he was also working. They married in 1998 in Lusaka, Zambia and had a marriage blessing in Long Melford the same year.
“Deborah leaves behind her four beautiful daughters aged between 8 and 16 years. She was a passionate Christian, generous and a kind soul who had a way of making everybody she came into contact with feel loved.
“We wish to thank Suffolk Police for soothing our hearts by giving us daily updates of their findings concerning the death of Deborah.
“May Her Soul Rest in Eternal Peace.”
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