Soweto man accused of storing body parts in fridge to undergo psychiatric evaluation

The Protea Magistrates Court on Friday granted an application for murder-accused, Flavio Hlabangwane, to be referred for psychiatric evaluation at Sterkfontein Hospital.

The 26-year-old’s lawyer made the application for a psychiatric evaluation after he had attempted to take his life on two occasions. The state did not oppose the application.

“The basis of this application in a nutshell is that the accused is unable to fully instruct his attorney so as to make a proper defence,” said the magistrate in his ruling.

Hlabangwane was arrested last month following the discovery of human remains inside a fridge in his rented room in Protea Glen, Soweto.

His girlfriend made the gruesome discovery after he left the property to go to the shops to buy food, and she called for help from neighbours. It has been reported that arms and legs were found in the fridge.

Hlabangwane faces a charge of murder and that of Contravention of the Inquest Act for failing to report the body of the deceased, which has been linked to the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman from Soshanguve in Tshwane, to authorities.

During the last court appearances, the court ordered that Hlabangwane be detained at the hospital section in Johannesburg Correctional Services as he could require medical attention and/or special care.

The case was postponed to 28 January 2022.

Alutha Pasile sentencing

On Thursday, Eastern Cape High Court, sitting as a circuit court in East London, sentenced Alutha Pasile to 25 years behind bars for the murder of his girlfriend Nosicelo Mtebeni.

This comes after his guilty plea on Monday for murder and defeating the ends of justice and the court’s subsequent guilty verdict.

The University of Fort Hare student’s body parts were found in a suitcase in East London in August this year. She was 23 years old.

Mtebeni’s upper body was found stuffed inside a luggage bag on the corner of Fitzpatrick Street and Fleet Street in the Quigney area.

Her head and hands were allegedly found in Pasile’s possession inside a room in a 10-room commune house. Pasile and Mtebeni shared the house with other tenants.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe

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