An intelligence-driven probe led to the apprehension of a 52-year-old man and his two accomplices for the murder of Sbongile Ditsela (47).

Ditsela’s body was found in a pool of blood at her home in Onverwacht outside Lephalale town in June 2021 and police investigations established her husband allegedly hired two hitmen to murder her.

Alias Ditsela (52) and one of his accomplices Petrus Sefara (48) appeared before the Lephalale Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of murder and house robbery following their arrests on October 9 in Lephalale and October 7 in Mankweng, respectively.

A third suspect was arrested in Mankweng in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mamphaswa Seabi said the suspect arrived at the deceased’s home on the day of her murder to make arrangements to collect his daughter after school.

“The suspect was let into the house by the domestic worker and he went straight to the bedroom where he found his estranged wife in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds,” a statement read.

Seabi said upon arrival, police found that the suspects broke a window to gain access to the bedroom without anyone in the house noticing.

“The suspects took the deceased’s cellphone and car keys and the deceased was found strangled with a rope,” he said.

The provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has lauded the investigating team and thanked the community for the positive information that led to the arrest of the suspects.

Ditsela and Sefara will next appear tomorrow for a formal bail application.