Sister raises funds to get to bottom of sudden death

Justine Isaacson-Connelly is hellbent on finding out how her older brother, Marc Isaacson, died suddenly in Johannesburg in February. She is convinced that crucial forensic evidence will give answers, but that means exhuming his body. 

Isaacson-Connelly, who is based in London, is appealing to the public to help raise R250 000 through a GoFundMe campaign she launched earlier this month. This would cover the legal and forensic costs to exhume her 41-year-old brother’s body. The family has raised around R50 000 so far. 

Although Isaacson-Connelly has suspicions about what happened, she stressed repeatedly that she wasn’t accusing anyone of wrongdoing. “We’re not presuming guilt,” she told the SA Jewish Report. “We just want to have facts of what exactly happened.” 

According to Isaacson-Connelly, her brother was living in a shared flat when he died. She received the news after only recently having returned to London from attending a shiva period in South Africa. She immediately flew back for his funeral. 

The speed with which the burial was arranged, together with the family’s shock, meant that an autopsy wasn’t carried out. There were no toxicology tests or other forensic examinations. 

“We were in shock and we went with what we trusted and believed. I’m an Orthodox Jew and I wanted to do what I thought was right,” she said. 

Jewish law places great importance on burying the deceased as soon as possible and discourages unnecessary disturbance of the body. However, many rabbinic authorities permit post-mortem examinations or exhumations when they may help establish the cause of death or contribute to justice. 

Isaacson-Connelly said that after the funeral, questions about the circumstances surrounding her brother’s death continued to trouble the family. There were several irregularities, she said. 

“There was no toxicology report, no autopsy, no forensics,” she said. “So, we had to investigate ourselves.” 

CAP had assisted the family with its private investigation, before it approached criminal advocates Daniel and Mannie Witz to pursue an urgent court application for an exhumation. 

“We can’t actually start the court case until we have an exhumation because we need the facts,” she said. 

There is a sense of urgency because the passage of time could reduce the likelihood of obtaining evidence. “We’re running out of time. We’ve been trying for nearly five months to get answers.” 

Despite her determination, Isaacson-Connelly said making the family’s story public had been one of the hardest decisions she’d ever made. “It was either now or never. We’re either going to get answers and pull together as a community, or we’re going to bury it forever and never find answers.” 

The campaign wasn’t driven only by her family’s need for closure, Isaacson-Connelly said. Establishing the truth could also protect others if any criminal conduct were eventually uncovered. 

She emphasised again that no conclusions could be drawn before forensic evidence was obtained. “We have to be very careful.” she said. “Unfortunately, the actual facts will only come by doing this.” 

Isaacson-Connelly said the emotional toll on her family had been immense, with the absence of answers making it impossible to grieve properly. “It’s really difficult to get closure without this. We’re suffering from a lot of post-traumatic stress, a lot of trauma, a lot of sleepless nights.” 

Her two younger brothers had also been deeply affected, particularly because the family had already experienced the loss of their father 20 years before. 

“We didn’t expect it,” she said of Isaacson’s death. “It was a big shock. We’ve all taken a massive hit. It’s affected our work. It’s affected our life. It’s affected everything.” 

Although she declined to discuss many aspects of the family’s investigation, on legal advice, Isaacson-Connelly said her brother had expressed concerns for his safety before his death. She also said there were issues surrounding security camera footage that the family had hoped would assist the investigation, but she declined to elaborate further. “I can’t presume guilt without fact.” 

Isaacson-Connelly said the family had been encouraged by expert opinion that forensic evidence could still be recovered months after burial. One of the criminal advocates assisting the family had previously been involved in a case in which a pathologist was still able to detect poison months after a death. 

For Isaacson-Connelly, exhumation is about gaining certainty, whatever the findings may be. “If they don’t confirm our suspicions, then at least we can put it to rest.” She said the family’s objective wasn’t to prove a particular theory, but to ensure that every possible avenue had been explored. “We just want the facts of what exactly happened.” 

Isaacson-Connelly also believes the case raises broader questions about protecting vulnerable people. She said her brother had struggled with a gambling addiction and had moved away from the Jewish community because he had been embarrassed by the financial consequences. 

She believes people experiencing addiction or mental health challenges can become isolated and more vulnerable to exploitation. “They can sometimes actually put themselves in further danger because they’re going into darker waters and people don’t know anything about them. People with mental illness are definitely much more vulnerable.” 

Despite the months of uncertainty, Isaacson-Connelly said she remained grateful for the support the family had received. She praised CAP for assisting throughout the investigation and said the public response to the fundraising campaign had given her hope. 

Within days of launching the appeal, she said, donations had begun arriving and media outlets in the United Kingdom had expressed interest in the family’s story. Now, she hopes the campaign will raise enough money to allow the legal process to begin before it is too late. “I believe it’s very important to get to the bottom of this, or to at least get a chance of justice,” she said. “And not just for us, but for anyone who may have to go through this.”