The accused, Thulisile Skhosana, appeared before the Evander Magistrate’s Court on Friday on a charge of murdering her grandmother, Opie Mthombeni, 63.

Embalenhle police spokesperson, Captain Magonseni Nkosi, said on Tuesday that they had received a distress call from Skhosana’s neighbours on Monday, January 4, and had rushed to the scene.

"We received a call from neighbours who suspected that Skhosana was burning her grandmother in the backyard of their home. When the police arrived on the scene, the gates were locked and when we asked Skhosana to open up, she claimed that she didn’t have the keys,” said Nkosi.

Nkosi explained that the police jumped over the fence. When they asked Skhosana what she was doing, she said she was burning rubbish.

"We discovered the body of the 63-year-old gogo Mthombeni, burning in the backyard. The suspect was arrested on the scene," added Nkosi.

Skhosana made her first court appearance on January 7 and the case was postponed to January 8 for bail.

She was denied bail and the case was to resume on Friday 22 January.

It was, however, postponed again until February 22 for further investigation.


- News24.com