SA stepmom awaits fate after teen's death in Mauritius

The stepmother of a 17-year-old school girl‚ who died when they had a heated altercation on an overseas holiday‚ is yet to learn her fate from prosecutors in Mauritius.

Mundolene Vosloo‚ a former pupil at Hugenote High School in Springs‚ collapsed after allegedly being hit by Marietjie Vosloo‚ 34‚ at the Riu Creole hotel in Le Morne.

An autopsy revealed that the teenager had bleeding on the brain‚ after a once in a lifetime family holiday ended tragically more than nine months ago.

Vosloo‚ who had been in custody on the island ever since‚ appeared in the Bambous Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Die Burger reported on Thursday that she appeared on a preliminary charge.

The country’s director of public prosecutions must still decide if she will be formally prosecuted‚ once the official investigation into the teenager’s death is complete.

Her legal representative‚ advocate Zaredhin Jaunbaccus‚ told Die Burger that she was being held in the woman’s section of the Beau-Bassin prison.

TimesLIVE reported last year how the teen arrived on the island with her father‚ Mike‚ stepmother Marietjie and her younger brothers for what was supposed to be a “once-in-a-lifetime holiday”.

But the holiday ended tragically after she and her stepmother became involved in a heated argument over towels at the resort’s swimming pool. The argument continued inside the hotel‚ where Vosloo allegedly slapped or struck the teenager. She collapsed in a corridor and was declared dead shortly afterwards.

Inspector Shiva Coothen said that she initially faced a “provisional charge of homicide”.

Mundolene’s former boyfriend in Johannesburg composed a song on the piano in her memory after she died‚ and posted it on Facebook.

“So I'm not a good piano player but I wrote this to my girlfriend from my heart so I’d like to share it. This is to you my angel‚” he said.

She was buried in Springs on October 14‚ 2017.

- TimesLIVE