Man charged with murder of elderly mother, whose body was hidden in cement-filled drum

A 54-year-old man who reported his 80-year-old mother as missing, has been arrested for murder in Brakpan after her body was found hidden in a drum that had been filled with cement.

According to a police statement, the man reported his mother missing at the Brakpan police station on Thursday.

However, following a tip-off that police received about the man behaving very suspiciously over the weekend, police went to his house, police spokesperson Captain Pearl van Staad said.

“Upon arrival, the man was found sitting outside looking distressed. He was interrogated and said on Thursday night he suffocated his mother to death with a pillow while she was asleep,” Van Staad said.

“He then mixed cement in a drum outside and he forcefully pressed her lifeless body in it.”

The man then allegedly led police to where the drum was located and, after cutting open the drum, the forensics team discovered the body of his mother.

Van Staad said the man was arrested and charged with murder.

He is expected to appear in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court soon.

Brakpan station commander Brigadier Friedl Jonck commended the community members for the tip-off and the swift response by police.

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