Johannesburg - The sister of Tshepang Pitse, who was killed in an incestuous marriage and cut to pieces, said she was relieved that her sister’s killer had confessed to the murder.
Tshepiso Modisagae expressed relief that Flavio Hlabangwane finally admitted to killing his sister and dismembering her body in 2021. This was one of the most complex cases to come out of Soweto because Tshepang and Flavio were actually cousins.
Hlabangwane told the High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court last week that he had killed his wife, Tshepang, after having an argument over the use of her bank card.
Hlabangwane, who pleaded guilty to the premeditated murder of his girlfriend Pitse, further said in his confession that he plotted to kill her after he learnt she had cheated on him.
The confession was his second after the State declined his initial murder plea at the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court last week.
Tshepiso said she was still concerned that Flavio had not told the family where the rest of the body parts were.
"He confessed, but this was my sister. He still did not tell us where the rest of my sister’s body parts are," she said.
Tshepang said she was hurt by the fact that her sister’s mother-in-law, who is also her aunt, had driven a wedge between the two sisters. The last time Tshepiso saw her sister was at Thokoza Park in Soweto, where the sisters would often meet to catch up.
“Thokoza Park was the only place we could meet because they never wanted me at the house. Tshepang was warned about me because I did not understand how two cousins can get married," she said.
Tshepiso said both she and her sister lost their mother when they were young, and they had to be raised by their aunt, who became her sister’s mother-in-law.
She described the experience of growing up with relatives as torture.
“I went to other relatives, telling them that my sister and my cousin are in a relationship and they are about to get married, but no one helped me. No one wanted to listen,” she said.
Tshepang’s father, Walter Pitse, told a local broadcaster that he was disappointed in Flavio. He said he still does not understand how the two got married.
“That boy disappointed me. I trusted him because Tshepang was his sister. I never expected this, and that’s why I am not going to court because I do not know what I would do to him,” he said.
Walter also said he was still questioning the whereabouts of his daughter’s body parts.
“Why can’t he tell us where the other body parts are? That’s all we are asking for,” he said.
Tshepang was buried last year without all her body parts. Initially, police thought that Tshepang’s murder was related to a ritualistic killing, but it came out in court that Tshepang and Flavio had an abusive relationship.
There were also concerns about Tshepang's inheritance money following her mother's death; her mother was reportedly a nurse working in London, United Kingdom.
Tshepang’s body parts were found by a girlfriend who was looking for food in the fridge in November 2021. The girl had discovered limbs in the fridge.
Hlabangwane was expected to make more admissions in court this week as his case resumes. The Star understands that the State wants the charge to be changed to premeditated murder instead of murder, which has a minimum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
The Star