According to a SAPS report released on Wednesday, a 19-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly murdering and burying her child in a shallow grave.
Reports state that the remains were discovered in the garden by the suspect’s 13-year-old nephew while he was preparing to plant potatoes.
The teenager noticed what looked like a human skull and immediately called his uncle, who responded quickly and in turn called the police after the horrific discovery.
A SAPS statement confirmed that it was a human skull. They then called the police Forensic team to the scene, where the rest of the human remains were found buried.
Police immediately conducted preliminary investigations which revealed that the suspect’s two-year-old daughter had not been seen by the family since December 2019. It later surfaced that the skeletal remains could possibly be those of her daughter.
Police had reportedly traced the 19-year-old woman, who is alleged to be the mother and enquired about the whereabouts of her daughter.
She informed the police that her child went for a family ritual ceremony in Lesotho. However, she later confessed that she killed her daughter and buried her in the backyard garden. The woman was arrested and appeared in court on Monday 24 February.
Reports state that, during her Court appearance, the suspect did not plead and was remanded in custody for further investigation. She is expected to appear again at the same Court within seven days.
The Provincial Commissioner in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, was quoted saying, “This is yet another sad story of a little defenseless girl whose life was cut short by her own biological mother, who was supposed to be loving, protecting and caring for the little girl.”
“Young mothers who feel overwhelmed by such responsibility or are going through any challenges are encouraged to seek assistance at relevant institutions so as to prevent such incidents. This is the third gruesome incident in a short space of time where children were found to have been murdered by their own parents.”
