Family recalls events leading up to double murder of mother and child

The family of a child and her mother, who were found dead at the mother’s boyfriend’s home, have recalled the events leading up to the tragic discovery of the two bodies on Sunday.

Eleven-year-old Tshepang Makhura and her mother Itumeleng (31) were found dead in a house on Dimakatso Street in Nellmapius.

Tshepang’s body was found on top of her father’s bed, while her mother’s body was underneath the same bed.

Itumeleng’s sister, Bonolo told Rekord that it all started when her sister went out on Friday evening and never returned the following day.

“On Saturday evening, when I got back from work, my mother [Flora] informed me that Itu was not back yet. She sent Tshepang to go check up on her,” she said.

“It was very unusual that she would be away the whole day.

“When she usually goes out, the next day by 10:00 she would be back home.”

Bonolo then went to look for her sister at her boyfriend’s home where Tshepang had also gone to search for her mother.

She said there was no sign of her sister, but Tshepang was watching TV.

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“Tshepang asked me where her mother is because she hadn’t had any luck finding her either.”

Confused and concerned, Bonolo then decided to wait at the house in case her sister showed up.

“Eventually I left. The next morning, my mother called my sister’s phone and the boyfriend answered,” she said.

“My mother asked that he give Itu the phone. He said ‘Itu is asleep’. My mother insisted that he wake her up because she needed to talk to her, he reiterated that ‘Itu is asleep’, then hung up.”

After a few attempts to call again, Flora decides to go to the house to look for her daughter herself.

Along the way she bumped into the boyfriend, allegedly carrying bags.

“When she asked him where he was going, he said the bags did not belong to him and that he was going to give them to some guy down the street.

“He also reassured my mother that Itu and the child were asleep in his room.”

A grandmother’s worst nightmare came true when Flora arrived at his house and saw her lifeless granddaughter on the bed.

“The bedroom door was locked, but one of the windows was opened,” Bonolo explained.

“Tshepang was lying underneath a duvet cover. When the mother lifted the duvet off through the window, she saw blood and foam at the mouth,” she said.

“They tried to shake her but she was unresponsive. She didn’t appear to have been dead for long.”

The door was then broken down and police were called to the scene.

Itumeleng was still missing and a search was immediately launched by family, police and community.

“We searched that room again because when Tshepang’s body was found there was an unexplainable foul smell,” she said.

That’s when another shocking discovery was made underneath the bed.

“The first thing we saw was my sister’s feet when the bed was overturned.

“Her skin colour had changed to purple.”

Bonolo said the family was struggling to come to terms with the loss and said she hoped that there would be justice for her sister and niece.

A search is still on for the woman’s boyfriend, known as Kenneth Debeila ‘Majozi’ (31), who was last seen on March 20.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the police on 0800 10111/012 845 4000.

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