A pregnant, hearing-impaired mother of three was halfway through her supper on Saturday when she suddenly turned blue and started vomiting and foaming from her nose and mouth.
The 32-year-old woman, whose family do not want to be identified, passed away in Kanana later that night, before emergency services had arrived at the scene.
The death of the mother, who was due to give birth in 5 days time, has left the family heartbroken and baffled. According to her aunt, the family believes she may have been poisoned. She was in a hurry to meet her boyfriend, who is also deaf, in town that afternoon to buy nappies for the unborn baby and their one-year-old son.
“She quickly had a bath after she received a text from him saying, ‘Let us meet in town’.”
The aunt says the boyfriend denies being the father of the unborn baby and had trampled on her pregnant belly in January.
“He was to be charged with attempted murder and the court case was looming. Paternity tests were also going to be conducted when the baby was born.
“My niece was in an abusive relationship but she was madly in love with him and always defended him, even after finding out that he had also made her other deaf friend pregnant.
“We suspect the boyfriend because he came here and seemed to know that she had died. He was already talking about custody of their one-year-old baby. How did he find out?” she asked.
According to the aunt, the boyfriend has two other children from different deaf mothers, both of whom have also since passed away.
The aunt says the family is heartbroken and blames the investigating officer who failed to arrest the boyfriend after the assault earlier this year.
“I believe the officer felt sorry for him and did not want to arrest a disabled person,” she said.
The mother, who is described as being an ever-smiling people’s person, will be buried in Kanana this Saturday. She leaves behind her two children, an 8-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy from the previous relationship and the couple’s one-year-old boy.
According to Ikageng SAPS spokesperson, Const. Kelebogile Trom, a case of inquest is being investigated. She urges the community, especially women, not to stay in abusive relationships. “They must report any abusive incidents to the police,” she said.
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