A woman (39) was stabbed to death in her home in Northdene, KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday in what is thought to be a house robbery.

Evidence Ntombifikile Seager lived with her brother, Sifiso Gumede, on Dilkoosh Road where, in October of last year, Rising Sun Chatsworth reported on the murder of a 72-year-old grandmother, who was stabbed and strangled in a house break-in, with the similarities in the murders stirring major concern in the community as residents fear for the safety of their families and women, who are left alone at home.

Gumede explained that the death of his sister, who has lived with him since her husband passed away, has left him in immense pain as he was with police officers when they located her bloodied and lifeless body.

“I left for work in the morning and spoke to my sister on WhatsApp on a few occasions, with my afternoon message not receiving a response. When I returned home that night, I noticed that the garage door was broken. I walked around the house and saw all my clothes lying in the backyard, while the inside of the house was ransacked, with some items missing.

“I called out for my sister and searched the house, but there was no sign of her. I then contacted the police and opened up a case of house break-in and a missing person’s report. When police arrived with tracker dogs, they found my sister under a heap of clothes, which I had seen but not thought anything of, because there were clothes across the yard,” explained the 36-year-old.

Malvern SAPS communications officer, Sergeant Sthembile Kheswa, said that police are still investigating the events leading up to Seager’s death.

“The complainant was in contact with his sister in the morning after he arrived at his place of work before she stopped responding to his messages. He says that when he went home, he found his house to have been ransacked with no sign of his sister. With the assistance of tracker dogs, the body was found, covered with stones, a mat, sand and even some items of the member’s uniform.

“The victim had multiple stab wounds on her chest and upper shoulder. Her pants were removed, and her underwear partially removed. Handcuffs were around her ankles. A knife was found in the pool. The entire house was flooded with water as the suspect opened the hose leading to the pool and let the water into the house. Some of the items stolen included shoes, cellphones and the keys to a Hyundai Tucson, which was still parked in the garage,” said Kheswa.

Gumede, who is an officer at a nearby station, explained that his family are not taking the news of her death well.

“My sister was a friendly and lovable person, who did not deserve a death like this. She always smiling and had no enemies, so we do not even have leads in that regard. We are just going to let the police do their work and hope that justice prevails,” concluded Gumede.

Seager’s father, 75-year-old Henry Gumede, said that he feels an indescribable pain inside and is now dealing with the thoughts and emotions that comes with losing a child.

Malvern police are investigating a case of murder and house robbery.