Pretoria – A 32-year-old man who is in hospital has been detained, under police guard, as he will be questioned on the murder of his 17-year-old girlfriend and her grandmother at Emadamini, near Ermelo.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the bodies of the two were found on Monday.
“The granny and granddaughter’s lifeless bodies were found in their house by family members after being contacted by the granddaughter’s employer who was worried that she failed to show up for work on Monday,” Mohlala said.
On their arrival, family members enquired from neighbours, but no one had knowledge of the granny and granddaughter’s whereabouts as the doors of their house were locked. They were also not responding to phone calls.
“The granddaughter’s boyfriend is said to have been contacted to give family members the house keys but he reportedly denied any knowledge of the keys. When asked about the whereabouts of his girlfriend, he allegedly mentioned that his girlfriend was in hospital as she indicated that she was not feeling well,” Mohlala said.
“On the said Monday at about 6pm, family members grew concerned and resorted to breaking the house window to investigate. They were reportedly met with two lifeless bodies covered with blankets. Both had head injuries and bruises all over.”
The police report further indicates that community members started a manhunt for the boyfriend with the hope that he would shed some light on what might have happened.
The man was tracked down on Tuesday morning and handed over to the police at about 2am.
“Although he sustained some injuries and community members alleged that he stabbed himself with a knife. Police then apprehended him for questioning, hence placed under police guard in hospital so that he could give clarity and information that may assist in the investigation,” Mohlala said.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has “vehemently” condemned the gruesome murder of the two women.
“We continue to experience senseless killings of the vulnerable groups and in this instance, it is a female senior citizen as well as a female minor. This is a matter of concern. However, police will work hard to get to the bottom of this where any person who is behind their murder will have to face the full might of the law,” Manamela said.
“A team of investigators has been assembled to investigate and we hope that they will make a breakthrough soon.”
IOL