A 38-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of his girlfriend in Mondlo, a township 15-or-so kilometres south-west of the town of Vryheid.

Man allegedly discovers affair through WhatsApp messages

According to police, the incident took place on Sunday, August 9. It is alleged that the man contacted his girlfriend and told her he was going to take her on a date to the nearby Mondlo Mall.

At about 11:30, the man arrived at the woman’s home in Block B, Mondlo, where he asked for the keys to her white bakkie. The woman reportedly followed him to the vehicle, got in, but then realised she had left something inside the house.

She rushed back inside, leaving her cellphone in the car as she returned to the house.

It is at this stage that the man allegedly went through her WhatsApp messages and discovered that she was involved in an affair with another man, say police.

Woman attacked and strangled

When the woman returned to the car, he drove with her towards a horse-racing area near the One Line Madressini area, which is on the way to the Mondlo Mall.

At some stage, he stopped and allegedly attacked her with a spanner, and afterwards strangled her with a rope.

He then put the woman’s body in the back of the bakkie and covered it with a tarpaulin, after which the man returned to the woman’s home. He then picked up the dead woman’s 24-year-old daughter before driving towards the Maboom Mountains.

Daughter discovers mother’s body

It is believed the vehicle ran out of petrol along the way and the daughter was allegedly left in the bakkie while the man went to get petrol for the bakkie.

The daughter waited for him to return, but he did not come back. She then went to check for anything in the back of the bakkie that could help her and upon lifting the tarpaulin, she was horrified to find her mother’s body. Her mother had a green and white rope around her neck, with blood on her face and head, say police.

The terrified daughter fled, looking for help. She managed to flag down a passing police van on the nearby main road and told the officers what had happened.

The 38-year-old man was subsequently arrested in connection with the murder.

The investigation is continuing as police work to establish the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.

The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.