“I LOVE you mum – see you tomorrow.”
Those were the final words Cindy Micallef ever said to her mum Vyleen White, 70, who was brutally stabbed to death with a single knife wound to the heart in a supermarket after being ambushed by carjacker who was just 16.
Vyleen, pictured at a family wedding, is much missed Credit: Supplied
Vyleen and her daughter Cindy – in the polka dot dress – hug Credit: Supplied
“My heart was shattered when she died,” says Cindy, 53, from Brisbane, .
The export operations manager and mum to two girls, Breanna, 23, and Caitlin, 18, told how she was incredibly close to her mum.
“I checked in on her every few days,” says Cindy, married to Shane, 51. “She was the rock of our family. She always knew when something was wrong and had a way of making you feel like everything was going to be okay.”
Vyleen had even supported Cindy through , telling her “you’re so brave.”
Vyleen celebrates her 70th birthday, shortly before she was murdered Credit: Supplied
Vyleen, Cindy’s daughter Breanna and Cindy in a family shot Credit: Supplied
And when she’d had a heart attack at just 36 she cared for her.
“She had five grandchildren and would spend her days doting on the little ones,” recalls Cindy. “She would carry them around on her back, doing Donald Duck impersonations. “My siblings, Danice, 50, Julie, 32, and I were so grateful for the support of mum and our dad, Victor, 75.”
In February 2024 Vyleen – who loved her independence – drove to the supermarket in . It should have been an ordinary trip but it ended in tragedy after a teen wearing a black hoodie and face mask approached Vyleen on the escalator and demanded her car keys.
Despite the OAP handing them over and holding her hands up in a defensive posture he knifed her in the heart so it penetrated 17cm before fleeing in her Hyundai Getz.
Incredibly an off duty doctor heard and rushed to perform CPR.
Police and ambulance officers arrived soon after, but were unable to save her, and Vyleen died at the scene.
Her daughter remembers finding out. She says: “I was watching TV in the lounge when my phone rang. It was Julie and she told me something had happened to mum and she was ‘gone’.”
At the police station the sorry tale unfolded.
“I struggled to comprehend the detective’s words,” says Cindy. “Her life was so cruelly snatched away. Dad was beside himself. He and our mum had been married for almost 50 years.”
She says telling her husband and children was incredibly difficult. “They fell apart, they were heartbroken,” she says.
Two days later a 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with murder, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and three counts of stealing.
In July last year he .
Ahead of his sentencing Cindy watched the CCTV footage of the crime.
She says: “I watched in horror as Mum, bewildered by the masked teen, take a few steps backwards and put her hands up defensively before handing over the keys.
“But still the offender plunged the knife deep into Mum’s chest as she collapsed to the ground. It was gut-wrenching to see this happen to my kind, caring mum.”
In November the entire family of Vyleen gathered at the , where the then 17-year-old appeared for sentencing.
The court heard that on the day of Mum’s murder, the teen had been drinking from around 2pm with a group of friends, before stealing items from various shops.
Just before 6pm, he left the group, alone, wearing a black hoodie and surgical mask covering his face, and was carrying a large knife when he approached Mum at the shopping centre.
Cindy says: “In one thrust, he plunged the blade 17cm into Mum’s chest, piercing her heart. The injury was not survivable.”
Justice Helen Bowskill says his actions were “callous and cowardly”. She said: “She was an innocent, older woman, going about her own business at the shops. She ought to have been able to feel, and be, safe.”
She sentenced the teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to 16 years behind bars.
“Now almost two years on, Mum is my first and last thought every day,” says Cindy. “In June this year a memorial was built at a garden where our family visits often. Mum always loved finding pretty places to take family photos and this one felt like the perfect spot to honour her memory, surrounded by jasmine vines and lavender.
On her birthday every year, we celebrate by baking her favourite pavlova roulade, and at Christmas we recreate her famous rissoles and brandy snaps. Although she may be gone, her loving spirit lives on in all of us.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
