Free State woman arrested after a father and two girls die from poisoned soup

Two women from the Free state appeared in the Bethlehem Magistrate Court facing three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, after the death of a father (49) and his two daughters, aged 10 and 14, allegedly as a result of eating poisoned soup.

A third daughter, aged 11, survived and is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Phekolong hospital.

The women were arrested on Wednesday. Their names are know to The Citizen, but are being withheld in order to protect the identity of the surviving child.

It is reported one of them had poisoned a brown bean soup and gave it to the deceased before they went to work and school.

Police spokesperson Phumelelo Dhlamini said that the girls who attended Utopia Farm School, complained about stomach cramps to the teachers, after which they were taken to a Bethlehem clinic, where two of them unfortunately died.

“Their father also fell ill while at work and was taken to hospital where he also passed away,” read the police statement.

On Thursday the post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was poisoning, and during investigations the mother of the children admitted to buying a poison called Temik with the intention to poison the soup.

She was arrested and detained at Bethlehem police station.

One of the women has been remanded in custody till the 30 June 2022 for formal bail application, while the other was released on warning and will appear again on the same date.

Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe has sent his condolences to the family for the untimely deaths of the two girls.

“We are deeply saddened by these untimely deaths and wish to convey our condolences to the family who lost their children in this tragic way,” said Makgoe.

Officials have visited the family and the teachers and learners received counselling for the tragedy.

Compiled by Kgomotso Phooko

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