Durban - A woman suspected of being the girlfriend of a married man, allegedly stabbed to death his wife and their 2-week-old baby in Folweni, south of Durban.
Nokuthula Khotseng, 29, and her young baby, Neo, were killed on Tuesday night, apparently by a woman who is believed to be a jealous girlfriend of Nokuthula’s husband, Lipuo Khotseng.
The man said he had been in a relationship with the woman but said the affair had ended.
He married his now deceased wife in 2007. He met the girlfriend while he was separated from his wife.
The woman is believed to have two children with Lipuo, a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, while the deceased had three children, Neo, a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old.
The woman was killed while on maternity leave. She worked at a supermarket.
The deceased had told friends about her troubles with the woman suspected of stabbing her to death.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala, said a 30-year-old woman had been arrested and charged with murder.
“The motive is not known at this stage, police are still investigating further. The accused will appear in court soon,” she said.
The double murder has left the community reeling.
Neighbours told Daily News’s sister paper, Isolezwe, that they suspected something was wrong when they heard a door banging numerous times at the deceased’s home
The deceased’s mother, Judith Dlamini, who lives in Klaarwater, near Pinetown, said she was shocked by what had happened and said she had been informed by Lipuo of her daughter’s death.
“He did not explain to me what happened but I was just shocked.”
“When I arrived there were lots of people and police, I saw my daughter lying on the floor covered and my grandson on the sofa covered.
“I am still shocked by what happened because I last spoke to Nokuthula on Monday and she told me the girlfriend came to leave her two kids and I was confused by what was going on,” she said.
Dlamini said her daughter had told her before that the woman would occasionally call her, harass and swear her over the phone.
“We even told her to come back home if she was not happy in her marriage and she said she couldn’t come back, she would endure.
“We did not ever think that it would end with her being murdered,” she said.
A friend of the deceased, who asked to remain anonymous, said some neighbours crossed paths with the suspect and said she was in a rush when they went to enquire about the banging doors at the deceased’s house.
“When they opened the door they saw Nokuthula’s body with many stab wounds.
“The child was also stabbed and was breathing slowly.
“They ran and chased after the woman and shouted for people to stop her.
“When they stopped her she denied it and ran into the bushes,” she said.
The girlfriend was later caught and arrested.
“I do not understand why she killed her because she knew all along that they were married,” she said.
Daily News