According to a Sunday Times report, two of them are believed to have been earmarked for Bester’s previous failed prison break plans from Mangaung maximum security prison. The third body, which was ultimately used as the decoy in Bester’s successful escape on May 3 last year, has still not been identified, according to the report.
Asked whether police were investigating how the bodies ended up at the morgues, Mathe said: “Investigation is ongoing on how long those bodies were in the mortuary and whether they were murdered then claimed back.
“Remember, the autopsy report says the person who was found died as a result of blunt-force trauma to the head and didn’t pick up smoke inhalation.”
Magudumana's father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, and former G4S prison warder Senohe Matsoara also face murder charges in connection with Bester's escape.
According to the charge sheet, the state alleges that on or around March 3 2022 the pair were involved with the killing of an unknown man in or around Bloemfontein.
When and how did they die? Cops looking into corpses linked to Thabo Bester escape
Image: TWITTER
The murder charges to be levelled against Dr Nandipha Magudumana relate to the unidentified bodies she allegedly claimed just weeks before her lover Thabo Bester's daring escape from the Mangaung prison last year.
National police commissioner Lt-Gen Fannie Masemola on Thursday morning revealed the charges Magudumana faces after her deportation to South Africa from Tanzania with Bester are aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody, murder, fraud and violation of bodies.
She is due to appear in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court later on Thursday. Bester was taken to a high-security prison in Pretoria.
Asked why Magudumana was being investigated on a murder rap, Masemola's spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe told TimesLIVE the murder charges related to the three unidentified bodies she allegedly claimed from Free State mortuaries over several weeks.
Cops reveal charges Dr Nandipha Magudumana faces when she appears in court
According to a Sunday Times report, two of them are believed to have been earmarked for Bester’s previous failed prison break plans from Mangaung maximum security prison. The third body, which was ultimately used as the decoy in Bester’s successful escape on May 3 last year, has still not been identified, according to the report.
Asked whether police were investigating how the bodies ended up at the morgues, Mathe said: “Investigation is ongoing on how long those bodies were in the mortuary and whether they were murdered then claimed back.
“Remember, the autopsy report says the person who was found died as a result of blunt-force trauma to the head and didn’t pick up smoke inhalation.”
Magudumana's father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, and former G4S prison warder Senohe Matsoara also face murder charges in connection with Bester's escape.
According to the charge sheet, the state alleges that on or around March 3 2022 the pair were involved with the killing of an unknown man in or around Bloemfontein.
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