EC man accused of mutilating his girlfriend abandons bail bid

The 25-year-old man accused of killing and mutilating his girlfriend made a brief appearance at the East London magistrate’s court on Monday.

Alutha Pasile, 25, has been charged for murder and defeating the ends of justice. He opted to not apply for bail. The charges follow the gruesome murder of 23-year-old University of Fort Hare student Nosicelo Mtebeni.

NPA spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said Pasile and Mtebeni were lovers and lived together in Quigney, East London.

She said the gruesome discovery of Mtebeni's body came after a 36-year-old man overheard two school girls expressing their shock and disgust about how sick people in Quigney were.

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“The man then approached the girls as he wanted to find out what they were talking about. They then told him that there were two bags at a nearby garbage dumping site that contained human body parts. He alerted police who were patrolling the area,” Ngcakani said.

She said a police investigation led them to a witness who allegedly saw Pasile leaving his residence about 5am with a purple suitcase and a grey-black bag.

“This account fitted the description of the two bags which were found at the dumping site. Pasile was arrested on the same day,” Ngcakani said.

Earlier on Monday, Ngcakani told SABC news that the state had a strong case and that Pasile had already confessed to killing the deceased.

“The state has a watertight case because we also have witnesses,” she said.

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