Free State man sentenced for murdering girlfriend and 18-month-old
· Citizen
Warning: This article contains descriptive accounts that some readers may find distressing.
The High Court sitting in Kroonstad has sentenced Pule Abraham Tshabalala to life in prison and five years for defeating the ends of justice for murdering his girlfriend and 18-month-old daughter.
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According to police, Lindley police received a tip-off about a suspicious house said to have a foul smell coming from inside, with flies gathering around a window.
It was also reported that the occupant, Pule Tshabalala, had not been sleeping at the house for quite some time.
Police searched the surrounding area and located Tshabalala in front of a gate at a nearby property.
After being granted permission to search the house, they were staggered by a strong, foul smell coming from the bathroom.
Tshabalala refused to open the door, and police then removed paper that had been used to cover the bathroom window to find the decomposed bodies of an adult African female and a young child.
The bodies were lying on the floor, covered in a blanket.
Due to the horrific state of the decomposition, the bodies could not be easily identified. DNA analysis helped identify both bodies.
Tshabalala was arrested at the scene and was consequently charged.
Last seen two weeks earlier
The deceased’s mother was traced and told the police that she last saw her daughter approximately two weeks earlier, when Tshabalala had invited her daughter and their 18-month-old daughter to visit him.