Cape Town - A family has been left shattered after a man allegedly strangled both his mom and his niece to death over the weekend.
The 39-year-old suspect had apparently threatened his mom Daffidol Faro, 62, and 10-year-old niece Aseeqah Erasmus hours before.
Relatives found Daffidol’s body in a deep freezer while Aseeqah was found in a bath full of water, hidden under clothes.
The horrific double murder happened in Kalksteenfontein in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The deceased woman’s sister, Patricia Francis, 59, says the suspect, who lived with his mother, first killed Daffidol and then the young girl.
“My niece Kayla went to check on her mom on Saturday morning as we were preparing to go to the butchery,” she explains.
“When she got to the house, she saw her mom’s legs sticking out of the deep freezer and she thought maybe she was cleaning it.
“She spoke to her and when she noticed that Deffidol wasn’t responding, she went closer and saw she was dead.”
She says the gran’s top had been pulled up while her pants were halfway off.
“Kayla screamed for help and we rushed to the house and saw that there was water on the floor. I saw my sister and took her out of the fridge and I made her clothes right,” says Patricia.
“When we went to the bedroom, we saw that Aseeqah was not in bed, and then when we went to the bathroom, we found the tap was running and there were clothes in the tub and when we removed them we found Aseeqah’s body.”
Patricia tells the Daily Voice the 10-year-old child’s eyes and mouth were open.
“She was strangled to death, like Daffidol, and then placed in the tub with water running.
“We think that she heard the commotion in the lounge area and when she got out, the suspect decided to silence her.
“Neighbours said they heard her scream once and that was it.”
She adds: “Daffidol’s friends heard my nephew threatening his mom and niece before they left around 1am on Saturday.
“After the murders, he stabbed and injured the family dog before he fled the scene but was later arrested.”
She says the suspect was previously in jail for murder and was a known drug merchant in Bishop Lavis.
“He threatened his mother all the time, he was aggressive and had been telling his mom that he was going to poison her. She ended up not eating anything he makes,” adds Patricia.
Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, confirms the double murder and says police made the arrest in Bishop Lavis on Saturday.
“Upon arrival at the crime scene in Panoster Square, they found the bodies of two females inside the dwelling.
“The victims aged 62 and 10 were both declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel.
“A 39-year-old male has been arrested and detained on a charge of murder,” he says.
Daily Voice