A 21 YEAR OLD MOTHER APPREHENDED FOR MURDER OF HER NEW BORN BABY IN VHEMBE DISTRICT
POLOKWANE: A 21 year-old female suspect was apprehended by the Vhulaudzi police under Vhembe District in connection with the murder of a new-born baby believed to be her daughter.
It is reported that on Wednesday 25 June 2025 at about 14:00, the suspect was at home with her twelve days old daughter together with her mother at Tshitavha village.
The victim was sleeping inside a one-roomed house when her grandmother informed the suspect that she was going to irrigate the crops at the fields. The grandmother of the deceased spent an hour at the fields and retreated to the residence.
On arrival, she found a 21 year-old female suspect sitting on the chair inside a one roomed house and asked her to wake up a new-born daughter and breastfeed her.
The suspect responded that her daughter had fallen inside a pit toilet, but the grandmother thought perhaps she was joking and asked her for the second time to breastfeed the baby.
A 21 year-old mother repeated the same answer that her daughter had fallen inside the pit toilet. The grandmother immediately called the neighbours to assist in taking out the baby from the pit toilet.
The local police together with members of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were summoned and certified a twelve days old daughter dead upon their arrival at the scene.
The mother of the deceased confessed that she strangled her with a shoelace until she lost consciousness and later threw her daughter inside the pit toilet.
A 21 year-old mother was immediately placed under an arrest on the scene. The motive of the incident is currently unknown at this stage and the suspect is expected to appear before the Dzanani Mgistrate court tomorrow on Friday, 27 June 2025 facing a charge of murder.
Police investigations are continuing.
