Calm, soft-spoken man in court after severed head found in fridge

Speaking in hushed tones to his lawyer and looking calm, a man made a fleeting appearance in court on Monday - in connection with the death of his decapitated girlfriend.

The 29-year-old woman's head was discovered on Friday in the fridge at a flat she apparently shared with the 31-year-old man in Kempton Park.

The prosecutor asked that the man, from Senegal, not be named yet as the matter had reached a sensitive stage. He is facing a charge of murder.

Dressed in a black jacket and blue jeans, he stood in the dock at the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court, speaking softly to his legal representative, who in turn addressed the court. He spent about five minutes in the dock.

The man, who speaks French but understands English, will remain behind bars until his next appearance for a formal bail application on May 7.

Gauteng police spokesperson Capt Jethro Mtshali said on Friday that the woman's  body was found in the flat they shared.

"She was allegedly beheaded by her boyfriend. The woman's head was later found in the fridge in the same flat," Mtshali said.

Mtshali said the boyfriend was arrested at a business where he was working.