Cape Town – Police in Limpopo rescued a three-year-old girl from a house in Ga-Marishane village where a man was found hanging and a woman’s body was discovered in a shallow grave outside.
Neighbours alerted the police due to an unpleasant smell emanating from the house, police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said.
Ledwaba said that upon arriving at the scene of the presumed tragic murder-suicide, the police discovered that the doors of the house were locked.
“They [police] forced entry and found a man hanging on the roof with a rope, in an advanced state of decomposition,” he said.
#sapsLIM Nebo #SAPS in Sekhukhune district are investigating a case of murder and inquest after a 38yr-old man was found dead in an apparent suicide and the body of a 34yr-old woman was found in a shallow grave at their residence in Ga Marishane Dihlaganeng section. ME… pic.twitter.com/SCcIzYFODq
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) February 17, 2024
He said that a three-year-old girl, discovered unharmed within the house, approached the police and was subsequently transported to the hospital.
A suicide note was allegedly found in the house.
A search by the K9 Unit revealed a shallow grave near the house containing the decomposed body of a woman.
“They [police] dug up the grave and discovered the body of a woman wrapped in blankets. It was in an advanced state of decomposition,” Ledwaba said.
The incident is suspected to be a tragic murder-suicide involving Johannes Mahlaba, 38, and Magabjane Cecilia Maila, 34.
The grim discovery follows the release of crime statistics, indicating a decrease in rape cases but a 2.1% increase in the murder rate in the country, with 7,710 people murdered between October and December 2022.
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Picture: X/@SAPoliceService
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
