Two bodies were discovered over two days in the room of a man in Embalenhle near Secunda, Mpumalanga after he was arrested for domestic violence against his mother and kept in custody. While the first body was found because of a foul smell in the room, the second was only discovered when police returned to look for clues to identify the first victim.

“How can a normal person sleep in the same room as two bodies?” the man’s mother asked Ridge Times on the scene on Saturday.

The man had locked his room and took the key with him when he was arrested for violating a restraining order against his mother on February 15. The gruesome discoveries were made she complained to police about a foul odour coming from her son’s room.

When police arrived at the house on Friday, February 17, they also observed the stench and the presence of flies. A family member helped them break open the door where a woman’s nearly decomposed body was discovered in a bed covered by blankets.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, says the woman had only a T-shirt on, was light in complexion and is estimated to be between 25 and 30 years old.

According to Mohlala, a preliminary investigation revealed that the woman might have been strangled as a shoelace was found around her neck. The body also had some signs of bleeding.

On Saturday, the suspect’s mother was back at the police station to inform them that the bad odour had still not subsided, even after the woman’s body was removed.

The investigating officer revisited the crime scene and discovered the second body, this time of a severely decomposed man wrapped in plastic, under the bed while he was searching for clues to help him identify the woman, whose body they removed the previous day.

According to information, coins were placed around the man’s body with a wooden cross nearby.

The suspect’s mother told the newspaper she had been reporting her son’s behaviour to the police for several months, but he always got off with a warning. Only when she approached the eMbalenhle station commander, Colonel Maria Sibanyoni, her complaints were taken seriously.

She was afraid of her child and had obtained a restraining order against him, claiming that he had threatened her and even tried to break down the door to her room.

“My life and that of the other tenants were in danger. Some of the others even decided to relocate. I was scared that he was also going to kill me because I asked him why his room is always locked,” she said.

“The second body appears to have been kept in the house long before the woman’s body because it was decomposed, with worms all over it,” the mother said about the crime scene.

Embalenhle residents were shocked by gruesome discoveries. Some told the newspaper they suspected the man was possessed and that they wanted him removed from the community.

Police say the man faces two charges of murder.

They are attempting to determine the identities of the two victims and asked for anyone with information to visit the eMbalenhle Police Station or call the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111 or send information via the My SAPS app.