Greenside mystery: Death of mom and newborn leaves police puzzled

Westenburg police have been left puzzled after the body of a woman from Greenside, in Extension 44, Polokwane, was found hanging from a tree near her home in the early hours of Friday morning.

What happened in Greenside Ext 44?

Responding to frantic calls from the Ext 44 community, the police arrived at the area where the woman’s shack is located and found her lifeless body dangling from a tree.

However, this was not the end of their horror, as an inspection of the woman’s place revealed a gruesome discovery.

It turns out that the woman was a mother to a three-month-old newborn baby girl and her lifeless body was found with ligature markings around her tiny neck.

Although it is too early to draw conclusions on the cause of the daughter’s death, it is believed that she may have been strangled to death.

What do we know about the victim?

In a statement quoted in a Review Online article, police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe stated that the identity of the victim has been withheld since her family, at the time of the gruesome discovery, had not yet been informed of her passing.

Further attempts from our end to try and solicit information from investigators have been unsuccessful. It appears that authorities are not ready to reveal any details at this point in time.

Has a suspect been identified?

The last update from Ngoepe revealed that investigators have not identified a suspect in the case. It is not known whether the woman had a partner who may be involved in the deaths.

Neither has it been established if the woman could be responsible for her daughter’s death, before taking her own life.

However, provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba revealed a clue about the direction of the investigation when he denounced incidents of domestic-related killings.