Man arrested after female farmer 'murdered over stolen goat'

Police in Dirkiesdorp, near Piet Retief, have arrested a 41-year-old man in connection with the murder of a 46-year-old woman, a goat owner.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lt-Col Jabu Ndubane said according to information received, a herdsman sold a goat to the suspect on May 2. When the goat’s owner questioned him about the missing goat, the herder confessed he had sold it to the suspect.

The next morning at about 6am, the goat’s owner went to the suspect’s residence to confront him. She never returned home. On Sunday her family reported her missing. Police arrested the suspect on Wednesday.

“Preliminary investigations revealed the suspect encountered the victim before she reached his home. He allegedly murdered her and buried her in a shallow grave,” said Ndubane.

“The suspect then used the victim’s cellphone to send misleading messages to her family, claiming she had received R2,000 and was going to Swaziland after discovering he had slaughtered the goat. He later destroyed the victim’s cellphone by burning it.”

Her body was recovered when the suspect showed police where to look.

He has been charged with murder, robbery and defeating the ends of justice.

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