Woman found buried in shallow grave inside boyfriend’s Vlakfontein shack

The body of a 41-year-old woman was discovered in a shallow grave inside a shack in Vlakfontein, Johannesburg, less than a year after the gruesome discovery of seven people buried under a pile of sand in a bedroom in the same area.

Gauteng police made the discovery on Sunday following a tip-off from the woman’s friend who was worried after she hadn’t seen her friend for nearly two months.

A 28-year old man, believed to be the woman’s boyfriend, has been arrested.

According to the police, the friend last saw the deceased in June.

In July, she went to the deceased’s boyfriend to find out about her whereabouts, police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said.

Masondo said the boyfriend told her that the deceased had found a job and was staying with her employer.

On Saturday, however, after noticing that the woman had not returned home for almost two months, the friend called the police and reported her suspicions.

“Police responded swiftly and approached the boyfriend. Upon questioning the suspect, he pointed the police to a shallow grave inside the shack,” Masondo said.

The police’s search and rescue team was summoned to the scene and the woman’s body was found in the shallow grave.

The man was arrested and is facing a murder charge.

He is expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

On October 29, 2018, in the same area, police discovered seven bodies. The seven members of the Khoza family – three women and four children – were found buried in a room.

Fita Khupe and Ernest Mabaso were arrested for the murders and faced seven counts of murder and possession of stolen property.

Mabaso committed suicide in his police cell in January after he was moved to the Cape Town Central police station.

The State withdrew charges against Khupe after it failed to find a way forward in the case following Mabaso’s death.

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