'Quit your job, buy a ticket, fall in love... never return!' Facebook message posted by free spirit Sarah before she set off for India only to be stabbed to death on houseboat
The British backpacker murdered in India was a 'free spirit' who abandoned the security of home in a bid to see the world, according to friends.
Before Sarah Groves set off for India in July 2012, she posted a message on Facebook which said: 'Quit your job, buy a ticket, get a tan, fall in love, never return.'
Friends have paid tribute to the 25-year-old former public school girl after she was stabbed to death by a Dutch tourist who later told police: 'The Devil took over my body.'
She was staying on a houseboat owned by the family of her Indian boyfriend, who said she was 'like a daughter' to them.
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Tragedy: Sarah Groves, 24, was an ex-pupil of £30,240-a-year St Mary’s School in Ascot, Berkshire
Saeed Shoda described Miss Groves as 'perfect' and the pair were planning a trekking holiday together
Police said the 24-year-old was found inside the boat and had suffered around 40 wounds
Miss Groves wrote a blog called The Bright Side of Life, on which she posted uplifting messages such as: ‘When you seek beauty in all people and all things you will not only find it, you will become it.’
Pictures posted on Facebook show her with African children. Friend Fabiana Harrington, who accompanied her to Kilimanjaro, said that in Tanzania she had fallen in love with the saying kuwa huru, meaning ‘be free’.
‘This is really how she was – a free and loving soul, a fearless, brave, inspirational and generous free spirit,’ she said.
Many friends and fellow pupils of £30,240-a-year St Mary’s School in Ascot, Berkshire took to Facebook to pay tribute to Miss Groves, the daughter of wealthy businessman from Guernsey.
Saeed Shoda (left) said he has spoken to Dutch national Richard de Wit, who was arrested about 45 miles from the scene of the suspected murder
Crime scene: Journalists and policemen stand outside the houseboat where Miss Groves was found dead on Saturday, on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, India
One friend, Annemarie Flemming, wrote on Facebook: ‘Your beauty, passion, smile and energy will always stay in my heart.’
Another, Claire Spindlow, said: ‘Sarah, your amazing outlook on life and beautiful personality was infectious to all those around you.’
Hafiza Shoda, mother of Miss Groves's boyfriend Saeed Ahmed Shoda, said she was 'devastated' at the backpacker's killing by Richard de Wit.
'She was a shy, lovely girl and called me mother in Kashmiri,' Mrs Shoda said as she expressed regret at hiring a room on the houseboat to the 43-year-old killer.
'Had we known the man had such evil intentions, we would have never let him stay,' she added. 'I'm devastated.'
A police officer holding Sarah's hiking boots. She was a keen traveller and had raised money for a children's charity by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
An officer bagging evidence. The boyfriend's family heard screaming and raised the alarm
Mr Shoda, 25, had gone to see friends at the time Miss Groves was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning on the houseboat near Kashmir's capital Srinagar.
'I wish I hadn't gone,' he said. 'I torture myself with those regrets now. She may still be alive if I was here or if she had come with me. I don't know how I can come out of this trauma.
A police officer with a pair of Sarah's shoes at the front entrance to her room on the houseboat
'It was a very short time we were together but I will never forget her. She has left a mark on my life. She had a great wonderful soul.'
Yesterday he said he had confronted de Wit, a 7ft cannabis user, and begged for answers.
Mr Shoda said de Wit’s response was brazen and ‘not normal’, adding: ‘I saw him at the police station and I asked him, why did you kill her?
‘The killer is not right in his head. He is not of this world. He doesn’t seem okay when you speak to him. He will not divulge anything about his crime, he has confessed to the crime but will not give any details.
'I want him hanged. He had no reason to kill her. She didn’t do anything wrong. I just don’t understand.’
Indian police said de Wit had confessed to the murder, which was allegedly carried out with a 12in knife.
The Deputy Inspector General of Kashmir Police, Ahfadul Mujtaba, said: ‘We put him in front of the magistrates today and we now have him in our custody for a further ten days.
‘He has confessed to killing the girl but at this time he is not giving any further detail.’
De Wit had arrived at the lake two days earlier and was staying in a separate cabin on the same boat as Miss Groves, a former bank worker.
Saeed's brother Irfan said the police did not send forensic officers until a day after the crime
Sarah Groves' backpack is taken away for forensic tests by police
Indian policemen carry the coffin containing the body of Miss Groves
Investigation: The police station where the body of Sarah Groves is being kept
She was found at around 3am by Mr Shoda’s brother Irfan and father Abdul.
Irfan said she had desperately tried to phone for help during the attack and was found lying on her bed, clutching her phone and with cuts on her fingers. He said: ‘The Dutchman’s room was open. Sarah’s door was open, broken.
‘I used my torch and saw Sarah in a pool of blood on her bed. She was motionless and one of her hands was in her mouth.’
Officers said they had not ruled out sexual assault because the victim’s clothes had been torn. After the attack, de Wit fled in a stolen rowing boat, which capsized.
He swam to shore and was picked up by police, carrying his passport and with no shoes, 50 miles away in Qazigund after flagging down a taxi.
Probe: River police investigate a boat on the lake where the houseboat is moored
The getaway boat believed to have been used by de Wit. Sarah painted 'No Woman No Cry' on the interior
Arrested: Dutch national Richard de Wit was arrested about 45 miles from the scene of the suspected murder
Inside: A pair of shoes (left) belonging to the 24-year-old woman from Guernsey are pictured on the houseboat in Srinagar
It is believed that Miss Groves travelled to Srinagar two months ago, intending to stay there for just four days
On the evening before the attack, Miss Groves shared a vegetable stew with the family in their corrugated iron hut beside the houseboat.
Hafiza tried to persuade her to stay the night with her, but she declined, saying she wanted to speak to her father and read a book.
Her parents, Victor, 70, and Kate, 66, are understood to be preparing to fly to India. Her brother Tom, 31, yesterday launched an online campaign to get justice for his sister, writing: ‘She lit up so many people’s lives.’
The attack will be another blow to the Indian tourist industry after a 25 per cent drop in foreign visitors since a spate of sexual assaults on women over the past few months.
A policeman stands outside the houseboat, New Beauty. Sarah, a qualified fitness instructor had gone travelling in Africa and Asia after attending Chelsea College of Art and Design
Sarah Groves was allegedly stabbed to death on Dal Lake, a popular tourist destination
Owner: One of the sons of the boathouse owner Abdul Rahim Shoda (pictured) is also helping police with the inquiries, although he has not been arrested, according to reports
Shoes: An Indian policeman stands guard on a houseboat near a pair of shoes (left) belonging to Sarah Groves
Tribute: Messages of respect have been paid to Sarah on sites including Twitter
Family: The son of the houseboat owner said Sarah had been enjoying her time with the family
In December a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was gang-raped on a bus in the centre of Delhi and later died from her injuries.
In March a 39-year-old Swiss tourist was gang-raped while camping with her husband in woodland in central India.
A few days later in the northern city of Agra, a 31-year-old British tourist was forced to jump from a second floor balcony when she feared a sexual assault by the owner of her hotel, who was trying to get into her room at 4am.