Durban: A KZN couple appeared in the Dundee Magistrate’s Court this week charged with killing Mercisha Tedpaul, the girlfriend of the couple’s younger son.
The couple’s older son was also charged with murder.
In addition to the murder charge, Manoj Madhan, 58, is charged with defeating the ends of justice.
His wife, Sarika, 47, is charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Their son, Sanjoth, 28, is charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating the ends of justice. The trio were represented by attorney Melo Shabangu.
Tedpaul, 24, a stay-at-home mother, was found strangled to death on a hill near a railway line on Watt Road, Dundee, on March 4.
She had been missing since March 1. The accused were arrested soon after police recovered her body.
On Tuesday morning, Mphalamiseni Mdlalose, the State prosecutor, said the State believed Tedpaul's murder was premeditated and opposed the accused being released on bail.
In his application for bail, Sanjoth said he intended on pleading not guilty to the charges against him.
He said on the day Tedpaul went missing he was doing plumbing and electrical repairs at a church.
“The pastor of the church opened the church for me to do the repairs. I was inside the church and alone. No one saw me. I took a break to have lunch at my mother's flat.”
Sarika shares the home with her son Nishkar and Tedpaul as well as their two children aged 7 and 4.
Sanjoth said that after lunch Tedpaul asked him to take her and Sarika to town.
“I stopped to fill fuel. I took them to a shop called the Shoe Boutique and then I dropped them off at the parking lot of Shoprite. I went back to the church to complete my work. When I was done, I locked the church and left the key at a nearby shop for the pastor to pick up.”
He said while driving back to his mother's home he saw her walking home alone and he gave her a lift. He did not ask about Tedpaul's whereabouts.
“When I got to my mother, I took my sister who had been caring for the deceased (Tedpaul’s) children home. I ate supper at my sister’s home and then went to my home where I lived alone.”
Sanjoth said soon after arriving home his father called to tell him he had a burst water pipe at his tavern.
“I walked to the tavern because it was a few minutes away from my home. There was heavy rain and while fixing the pipe I was drenched in water. My father gave me a fresh set of clothes to wear and I slept in his cold room which was broken.
“He did not want me to go home and insisted I stayed over. My mother also called me to say that Mercisha was missing. She asked if I knew where she was and I said no.”
He said that around 1am a police officer and some civilians arrived at the tavern and began questioning him about Tedpaul’s whereabouts.
“They began searching the tavern for her. The police officer and civilians loaded me into a police van and took me to a river not too far from the tavern. They accused me of dumping her body in the river and assaulted me.
“I was put back into the police van and taken to a room in the police station. A plastic bag was placed around my mouth and nose and they continued assaulting me.”
He told the court he wanted to be granted bail so he could return to society.
“I want to make my life better. Now that I am locked up everyone looks at me with bad eyes. I want to build myself again.”
Meanwhile, his brother, Nishkar, 26, who works as a machinist at an automotive company, told POST he wanted justice even though his family was implicated.
“I believe they are responsible for her death. I have disowned them as my family. My children have been robbed of a mother. Those days when Mercisha was missing were the most painful for me. I didn’t even know what to say to our daughters.
“Her last words to me before I went to work were ‘I love you; I will see you later’ but that never happened. I don’t know what my family had against her. I have moved out of my mother’s home and I am now living with my brother. My children are with me.”
He said he knew Tedpaul from the time they were in high school and had been in a relationship for 11 years.
“We planned on getting married this year. She was everything to me. We had a future planned out. She was a kind person.”
Vishal Dhookie, her brother-in-law, was part of a protest outside court to lobby for the accused to remain behind bars.
“We want justice. We will not stop until we get the truth about what happened to Mercisha.”
The bail application continues.
The Post