Police dig up body of woman who was killed and buried in shack

Staff Reporter

A 21-year-old man has been arrested after the body of his mother who had been reported missing was found in a shallow grave inside a shack in Bronville, Welkom.

The deceased, Siziwe Gladile, 40, is a former administrative clerk for the South African Police Service in the Eastern Cape.

She was reported missing by her brother on Wednesday at about 10pm.

Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said a team of investigators was immediately dispatched to the house of the deceased for the preliminary investigation.

“On arrival they noticed that the window panes were broken and there were blood stains on the ground next to the house leading to the shack at the back,” she said in a statement.

Mbambo said the officers then followed the blood trail and found loose soil in the shack.

“They noticed a human toe protruding in the sand as they tried to dig inside the shack. Relevant stakeholders were alerted and the body was dug out in the morning of 1 April 2021 at about 10am,” she added.

Further investigations led to the arrest of the woman’s son.

A case of murder has been registered for further investigation and the suspect will appear at the Welkom Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, three people believed to be involved in the theft of bank cards were arrested in Thabong, Welkom, on Wednesday.

The suspects, aged 25, 30 and 33 years old, from Rocklands in Bloemfontein, were arrested following a high-speed chase with the police.

According to Mbambo, members of the public order police reaction team were on a routine patrol when they noticed a suspicious white sedan driving at high speed from Boitumelo Mall.

At the same time, some shoppers approached the police saying the people in that vehicle had stolen their bank cards.

The police then chased the said vehicle until they reached the notorious G-Hostel in Thabong.

A white Haval with a GP registration was stopped and the occupants jumped out of the vehicle and fled in different directions.

The suspects were caught and taken back to the vehicle.

A search was conducted and the bank cards belonging to the complainants and cash were found inside the vehicle.

Further investigations revealed that there was a warrant of arrest for the same suspects by Park Road police for a similar crime.

Their vehicle was seized by the police.

The three will appear in the Welkom Magistrates Court soon on charges of robbery.