Durban - The ex-fiancee of the man accused of the kidnapping and murder of Siam Lee was in disbelief when she learnt of his death on Friday.
Lucky Mthembu, 28, said she felt a “weight lift off her shoulders” when she got the news that Philani Ntuli, 30, was dead.
Mthembu and Ntuli had been in a relationship and broke up in 2016 after he started to abuse her. She said Ntuli broke her ankle and she came close to having her foot amputated.
“I still can’t believe he is dead. When I got the news it was a huge relief. Something literally lifted off my shoulders and heart.
“But he’s the devil; I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he faked his death. He is a twisted psycho who damaged me in a way that I will never forget,” said Mthembu.
Reial Mahabeer, Ntuli’s lawyer, said he had been informed by Ntuli’s uncle that his client had died from skin cancer early on Friday morning.
Mthembu said on Saturday that every time she thought Ntuli had disappeared, he would return with a vengeance.
She had been on the run from Ntuli because she feared he would kill her.
“I’m so relieved it is over. I am looking forward to seeing or hearing that his coffin has been lowered into the ground or his body has been cremated,” said Mthembu.
“Then I would be able to finally live without fear.”
Ntuli, who had faced eight charges varying from murder to rape, had been out on bail of R40 000 and was to have appeared in the Durban High Court on July 29 for the pre-trial hearing.
Lee, 20 at the time, was abducted from an alleged Durban North brothel in January last year.
Her charred body was discovered on a farm in New Hanover in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands days later.
Sue Foster, a close friend of Lee’s mother Nan, said Ntuli got the “easy way out” and she wept for her “darling Siam”.
“No bloody justice for Siam. I’m in tears. How can such a cruel monster get off so easily? I am disappointed that we did not get to see the court process unfold and get closure,” she said.