No matter how many times we see headlines about parents being responsible for the deaths of their own children, there is just no getting used to such stories.
The following are four cases of children who allegedly died at the hands of the people who gave them life.
Horror as four children found dead
The family of Zintle Maditla told police about the horrific scene they found at her house in Witbank, Mpumalanga, on December 30.
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said Maditla asked her family to check on her house a few days after Christmas. "They reportedly went there and were met by a gruesome scene, where the dead bodies of her four children were wrapped in blankets inside the house," said Hlathi.
Maditla appeared in court in connection with the deaths on Monday. The matter was postponed to January 14, when Maditla will be expected to apply for bail.