Durban - A 74-year-old Parlock woman was strangled early on Tuesday in the quiet Durban suburb, allegedly by two gardeners employed by her family.
Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, provincial police spokesperson, confirmed on Tuesday that the woman was found dead at her home in Amlock Drive.
“She was allegedly strangled and an undisclosed amount of cash was taken."
“Newlands East police are investigating a case of murder and no arrests have been made at this stage.
“Police were alerted by the husband, who found his wife’s body,” said Zwane.
When the Daily News arrived, relatives of the murdered woman were too distraught to speak.
They had also not informed other members of the family and did not want them hearing about the incident through the media.
A police officer had also arrived to take identikits of the suspects.
According to one of the residents, who did not want to be named, the gardeners apparently fled with the R6 500 the family had budgeted for their municipal bill.
“I told the family to be careful of these two guys and to take pictures of them before they employed them,” he said.
He had spoken to the family after the attack and said the men had managed to get the keys to the family’s safe, but they had struggled to open it.
They, however, found the R6 500 in the house.
He claimed the men had also worked at the family’s Sea Cow Lake poultry farm.
He said the men had never been allowed to work inside the house, and instead tended to the garden.
Eunice Mkhize, a local domestic worker, said although she hardly knew the woman, she would always greet her when she collected her newspaper at the gate each morning.
“I am shocked. She seemed like a good person and I am worried about the crime in the area."
“I am now scared, after 10 years of working in this area, because you just never know when you will be attacked,” Mkhize said.