Suspect's sister feels shame after body is found inside Vlakfontein shack

06 August 2019 - 16:00 By Tankiso Makhetha
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A packed Protea magistrate's court awaiting the appearance of a man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend and buried her in a shallow grave in their shack in Vlakfontein.
A packed Protea magistrate's court awaiting the appearance of a man who allegedly murdered his girlfriend and buried her in a shallow grave in their shack in Vlakfontein.
Image: Tankiso Makhetha/SowetanLIVE

The sister of a Vlakfontein man who allegedly killed his lover and buried her remains in a shallow grave inside their shack says the family feels ashamed.

The 28-year-old suspect appeared briefly in the Protea magistrate's court on Tuesday on a charge of murder and defeating the ends of justice.

He told the court that he would not require a lawyer and would represent himself because only he knew what happened. However, he later conceded that he needed a lawyer.

He allegedly killed and buried his lover, living with her corpse for nearly two months until a concerned friend of the dead woman contacted police, leading to the discovery of her remains on Sunday.

"As a mother it was hurtful to learn that that's what he [allegedly] did. It made me ashamed," the suspect's sister told SowetanLIVE outside court.

They were estranged.

After their parents died, she said her brother kicked her out of their family home in February this year.

He rented out the house and built a shack in the yard, she said.

She said she did not know the deceased.

A friend of his said he felt deceived by the 28-year-old because they spent time in the shack since the woman's disappearance.

"We hung out together and I never suspected that she was dead. I asked him where she was and he said she went home."

The suspect was jeered and insulted by angry residents who attended court on Tuesday.

Magistrate David Mhango postponed the matter for formal bail application on August 20.


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