An elderly Pietermaritzburg couple died this morning after robbers - who stole only a television set - stabbed them and set their home on fire.
After extinguishing the blaze at the home in Triton Circle in the Oribi area early this morning, fire-fighters and paramedics found that a man and his wife, both in their seventies, had died.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said the couple were stabbed on their necks.
"A TV set was taken away. Their house was set alight before the suspects fled the scene," he said.
Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said paramedics found fire-fighters battling the blaze when they arrived at the scene at about 2:30am.
"After the fire was extinguished medics found the two elderly people had tragically died in the blaze," he said.
Alexandra Road police are investigating two counts of murder, house robbery and arson.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni condemned the brutal killing.
"We will work around the clock to make sure that the perpetrators are brought to book,” she said.
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