The Kroonstad high court convicted Pule Abraham Tshabalala of Ntha Township near Lindley on two counts of murder and defeating the ends of justice. The judgment was handed down on Thursday (23/7). Tshabalala is expected to be sentenced on 27 August, said Free State police spokesperson  Mmako Mophiring.

The case stems from a gruesome discovery made on 31 December 2024 after Lindley police received information about a suspicious house in Ntha Township. Residents reported a foul smell coming from the property and numerous flies gathering around a window. It was also reported the occupant, Tshabalala, had not been sleeping at the house.

Property

Police responded to the address but initially found no one at the premises. Officers searched the surrounding area and later found Tshabalala standing at the gate of a nearby property. 

After obtaining permission to search the house, they entered the premises and were immediately overwhelmed by a strong foul odour coming from a locked bathroom. Tshabalala refused to open the bathroom door.“Police removed paper that had been used to cover the bathroom window and observed the decomposed bodies of a female and a young child lying on the floor, covered with a blanket. Tshabalala was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged.”

Investigators later traced the deceased woman’s family to Mamafubedu near Petrus Steyn. Mophiring said the woman’s mother, Emily Mamoya Nkatlo, told police she had last seen her daughter about two weeks earlier after Tshabalala had invited her and her 18-month-old daughter to visit him. 

Due to the advanced state of decomposition, the bodies could not be identified visually. DNA analysis later confirmed the identities of both the woman and the toddler.

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