Fundraiser for funeral of "fun" 30-year-old passes £1,000 mark

Friday 29 September 2023

The friend of a "loving and fun" 30-year-old whose body was found on the beach at La Haule earlier this month has set up a fundraiser to help give her the "amazing send off that she deserves".

Ketevani Kasrashvili, known as Katie, was found dead near La Haule slip in St Brelade just a day after socialising with friends while enjoying the Jersey International Air Display.

Stacey Camps – a close friend of Katie, who moved to Jersey from her native Georgia last summer – spoke of the shock of hearing the news.

The islander has now launched a fundraising appeal to cover the costs of her friend’s funeral, which has raised over £1,000 in four days.

Pictured: At the time of writing, the fundraiser for Katie's funeral had reached £1,400.

"She was taken far too soon, and we just want to do something to help her family," Stacey 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.

Pictured: Katie Kasrashvili (right) and friends, Stacey Camps and Stacey's fiancé Chris Tilston.

"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," Stacey explained.

"I’m getting married in 2024 and Katie had already been talking about the dress she wanted to wear at the wedding."

Stacey had spent time with Katie on the day before her death, and hugged her goodbye on on Thursday night after the Air Display.

Pictured: Stacey Camps called friend Katie Kasrashvili (right) her "Georgian Beauty".

Stacey 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 07:00 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."

Stacey said her friend had come from a large and close family, with relatives having been "devastated" when they were told about what had happened.

Pictured: Katie Kasrashvili moved to Jersey from her native Georgia in summer 2022.

Although the Georgian government has pledged to assist with the repatriation of Katie’s body, a fundraising page has been set up to help the family pay for a funeral.

An inquest into her death was opened and subsequently adjourned on Wednesday 28 September.

The circumstances around Katie’s death are being investigated by the police.

DONATE...

You can donate to Stacey's fundraising page HERE.