Two women have been arrested by Western Cape police for the murder of their children in two separate incidents, in Oudtshoorn and in Plettenberg Bay, Cape {town} Etc reports.
In the first incident, the body of a 7-year-old boy was found in a bedroom in Korhaan Avenue, Bridgeton, Oudtshoorn, on 11 August, after police were dispatched at 11:30am, according to police spokesperson Sergeant Christopher Spies.
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‘Paramedics later declared him dead on the scene. The police initially opened an inquest docket for further investigation. However, a post-mortem conducted later indicated that the victim died of strangulation. The docket was subsequently changed to murder,’ said Spies.
The boy’s mother (39) was arrested on 21 August on a charge of murder, as reported by News24.
‘She made her first court appearance in the Oudtshoorn Magistrates’ [Court] on Friday, 23 August, on a murder charge,’ said Spies.
The case was postponed to Tuesday for ‘legal representation’, with the accused being remanded in custody.
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In the second incident that occurred last Monday, 19 August, Plettenberg Bay police were dispatched to a crime scene at 11am, next to the N2 highway, opposite Kwanokuthula, where the body of an infant girl was found, according to a SAPS press statement.
She was believed to be three days old.
‘Investigation took police to a nearby hospital where a woman gave birth to the girl earlier this month. The woman was tracked down to Kwanokuthula and arrested on a murder charge,’ said Spies.
The woman (23), who is in custody, is expected to make her first court appearance in the Plettenberg Bay Magistrate’s Court later today.
An investigation into both case continues.
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Picture: Charles McQuillan / Getty Images