How murdered Bluff woman's body was discovered

Published Sep 26, 2019

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Durban - Senior citizens are soft targets for criminals, often preyed on by people known to them, a crime analyst said after police found the partially decomposed body of a 77-year-old woman in her Bluff home.

Delores Ireland was found in the laundry room of her Grafton Street, Bluff home on Tuesday night.

Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said she was found with her hands tied.

“There are signs of her being strangled. Brighton Beach SAPS opened a murder docket,” he said.

Ireland was found wrapped in a carpet, with bundles of clothing placed on her.

A close friend, who did not want to be named, said she noted something amiss when she went to the house on Monday. She said items that Ireland never moved were out of place.

The friend asked a man on the premises of her whereabouts. He told her that Ireland had been taken to an old-age home and that he was hired to renovate the house.

The friend contacted Ireland’s son and they both went to the house.

While looking through the laundry room, they discovered her body.

Neighbour Mike Ware said he last chatted briefly with Ireland last Thursday. On Monday he felt it was strange that he had not seen her at the weekend. Her son, Shaun Ireland, would not comment.

KwaZulu-Natal violence monitor Mary de Haas said older people were often murdered by people known to them.

“There are various motives. Money is one of them. Some murders are linked to tensions in the family or disgruntled employees,” she said.

Daily News

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