A teen mother, alleged to have murdered her toddler by suffocation, walked out of the home and allegedly confessed to a passer-by.

The teen (17) from France location in Pietermaritzburg allegedly suffocated her two-year-old son to death with a pillow on Saturday at around 11:00.

She is alleged to have then left the house and confessed to a woman who was walking in the road. It is also alleged that the teen asked the woman to call the police for her.

When the police arrived, they took the teen into the house and found her son’s lifeless body lying on the bed.

Emotions ran high among community members, but the police managed to arrest her. She was then charged with murder.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Sifiso Gwala confirmed that a murder case has been opened for investigation and the suspect was arrested on Saturday.

“This incident is very disturbing. If you don’t want a child, there are many people who want children. You can give them up for adoption.”

The teen was expected to make her first appearance in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court today but the case was not enrolled.

KZN Department of Social Development spokesperson Mhlabunzima Memela says this is an unfortunate incident.

“We don’t have many such cases. We are concerned to learn that there are people who do such things.”

He adds that whatever circumstances people face, they should follow channels that are available and seek help, or take the child to social workers. He says they find solace that the teen has been arrested.

“There are quite a number of programmes that the department has available. We encourage communities that should they find themselves in dire situations, they must be able to contact social workers so that the child will be taken care of by the department.

“We have child and youth care centres where children are kept up until they are able to take their own decisions. We don’t want to see children being abused. It is important to encourage communities to be the ones leading on the ground in ensuring that children are protected. Parents have an obligation as well if they see that they are unfit to take care of their children, to seek help. More especially, they need to contact social workers,” he explains.