Judgment soon in bail application of woman accused of mum’s murder

Judgment in the bail application of a woman accused of plotting to murder her 62-year-old mother for an R80,000 life insurance payout is expected to be handed down on Friday, the National Prosecuting Authority has said.

The 39-year-old accused appeared in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga on Monday.

This as her co-accused, a 41-year-old woman who was in hiding, was arrested and also appeared in court. Police made a breakthrough and arrested the 41-year-old on Thursday after she went into hiding after the murder on 6 January.

According to NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, her matter was postponed to 6 March.

The deceased woman’s daughters, aged 30 and 39, were arrested following the discovery of her body.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, the younger sister had invited her mother for a visit on the day.

“Information indicates that she organised her 41-year-old boyfriend as well as two other male friends and then waited for her mother to arrive. When [the mother] eventually arrived… she was allegedly kidnapped, assaulted, senselessly gang-raped by the two male friends while [the younger sister] and her friend were holding her.”

Hlathi said the 62-year-old woman was then allegedly strangled to death, her body wrapped in a blanket and hidden in an outside toilet.

Her body was later found dumped on the side of a road in Barberton.

Hlathi said investigations revealed the murder was “well planned”.

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