TRIBUTES have been paid to a ‘loving and fun’ 30-year-old whose body was found on a south-coast beach.
Ketevan Kasrashvili, known as Katie, was found dead near La Haule slip in St Brelade a day after socialising with friends while enjoying the Jersey International Air Display.
Islander Stacey Camps – a close friend of Ms Kasrashvili, who moved to Jersey from her native Georgia in summer 2022, spoke of the shock of hearing the news. She has now launched a fundraising appeal to cover the costs of her friend’s funeral.
She said: ‘I had a call on the Friday morning after the air display about whether I knew where Katie was, and then soon after that I was told that her body had already been found at 7am that day.
‘It was a massive shock to all of us who knew Katie – we had spent much of the day with her on the Thursday, and she was really happy and enjoying herself.’
Ms Camps said her friend had come from a large and close family, with relatives having been ‘devastated’ when they were told about what had happened.
Although the Georgian government has pledged to assist with the repatriation of Ms Kasrashvili’s body, a fundraising page has been set up to help the family pay for a funeral.
‘She was taken far too soon, and we just want to do something to help her family,’ Ms Camps said.
She described her friend as ‘a very loving and fun person’ who worked in a hospitality role at the Pomme d’Or Hotel and had hoped to make her home in Jersey.
‘Katie really liked Jersey and after she had to go back to Georgia for three months when her visa expired, she came back here as soon as she could get a new visa and wanted to stay longer,’ Ms Camps said.
‘I’m getting married in 2024 and Katie had already been talking about the dress she wanted to wear at the wedding.’
The circumstances around Ms Kasrashvili’s death are being investigated by the States police.
Anyone wanting to contribute to the fundraising efforts should visit ‘Katie’s funeral’ on gofundme.com.
