ERMELO – Police are investigating the alleged murder of a 27-year-old woman in Thusi Village after a 31-year-old man was arrested in connection with her death.

Provincial SAPS spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo said police received a complaint about a woman allegedly being assaulted by her male friend.

When officers arrived, they found the woman unconscious on the ground. Paramedics declared her dead at the scene.

According to Masondo, the suspect was still in the vicinity and was immediately arrested. He is expected to appear in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court today, facing a charge of murder.

The family is awaiting the official post-mortem results to confirm the cause of death.

Highvelder is withholding the identities of the deceased and the suspect pending his first court appearance.

The woman’s family has approached the Mpumalanga Department of Social Development for social work and psychosocial support, particularly for her four-year-old son.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and the motive.

Read more about the family’s appeal for support and its call for greater gender-based violence awareness in the Highvelder’s printed edition.