A 34-year-old man who had allegedly doused his girlfriend and three others with petrol and then set the house they were in alight, appeared in court on a murder charge after one of the victims died.
The suspect was remanded in custody after appearing in Randburg Magistrates’ Court on October 27.
According to the suspect’s girlfriend, he was working nightshift on October 15 and came home unexpectedly at about midnight, and found her with her friends, two women and one man, drinking beers at their home in Thabo Mbeki squatter camp.
Spokesperson for the Diepsloot Police Station, Captain Tinyiko Mathebula said the suspect then allegedly doused them in petrol and set the house alight.
“The suspect’s girlfriend, her two female friends and three children managed to escape unscathed,” he said.
Mathebula added, “A 24-year-old male was not as lucky as he was allegedly found a stone’s throw from the house with third-degree burns.
“He was rushed to hospital in Krugersdorp and sadly succumbed to his injuries on October 20.”
Diepsloot detectives obtained statements from key witnesses and were able to arrest the suspect on October 25.
