Generous, kind, and the life of the party.

This was how Audrey Fang's brother and cousin described her in an interview on Apr. 22, according to CNA.

The 39-year-old architect had been on a solo trip to Spain when she went missing.

Her body was later discovered, allegedly with 30 stab wounds, and another Singaporean — Mitchell Ong — would subsequently be arrested on suspicion of murder.

"She was taken in such a horrible way"

Even when Fang's brother and cousin were travelling to Spain to look for her, they never imagined that she could have been killed.

Rather, they had expected to be driving around hospitals in Spain to search for Fang, who had been unreachable since Apr. 10.

"(Her killing) never crossed our minds," said her cousin, who identified herself as Ms See.

"We thought maybe she was in hospital... honestly, even worst-case scenario – we thought she may have fallen, hit her head."

Her brother, Benjamin Fang, said: "We're just very sad and horrified that she was taken in such a horrible way."

An autopsy report attributed the death to knife wounds and head trauma.

The suspect

The suspect, Mitchell Ong, was a fellow Singaporean who had allegedly known Fang for years.

On his Instagram account, Ong describes himself as 1.88m, "nice", and a "power Asian", posting frequently about his gym activities.

He was reportedly married in 2012.

Benjamin told CNA that he had never heard of Ong and was unaware of what kind of relationship he had with his sister.

Prior to her disappearance, Fang had told her family that she would be meeting a former colleague in Spain.

A spokesperson for the Civil Guard, a Spanish national police agency, previously suggested that some possible motives could be either economic or romantic.

But a concrete reason has yet to come to light.

Privacy laws in Singapore also prevent Fang's family members from accessing her bank account and finding out more.

"In the meantime, we're going to ask more friends and family if they've seen this person, if they know of any relationship... if anybody knows anything about this guy,"  Benjamin said.

A Straits Times report found that Ong offered "expert" financial advice on a now-defunct website, and spoke often of his exploits in cryptocurrency.

He also listed "successful business ventures" that he'd launched, but checks revealed that five out of the six companies he deals with are now defunct.

He also likes to travel for business and raves, according to an anonymous acquaintance.

A pillar of strength

Opening up about Fang, Benjamin said that his sister became the "pillar of strength" for the family after their mother passed in 2019.

She had also been a generous older sister, even offering to pay for Benjamin's wedding.

"Especially when my mum left, she took care of me the most," he said, choking up.

As children, the pair liked to make each other's lives difficult, Benjamin quipped.

But as they grew older, she was "very private" with him and was closer to their cousin, See.

Fang and See would go out for lunches on weekends and travel together.

She also dreamt of retiring early and moving to Bali with See in a home that she would personally design, CNA reported.

"Now I'm also missing a travel companion," said See, who had a Japan trip lined up in April with Fang.

"Sometimes I think I should have gone with her to Spain too."

The family

After their mother's passing, Fang was the one who kept their late mum's floral business alive despite also working as an architect in a design services company.

Now, Benjamin will take charge of the family business.

He hopes that their father, 67, will work there as well to occupy his mind.

Their father is not taking the news well, he admitted.

"We hope he can get past this as soon as possible," he said.

"We still need to receive my sister when she comes home."

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Top image from Mitchell Ong/Instagram and Fang Dirou/Facebook