Murder of pregnant woman in KZN

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Heavily pregnant woman raped, stabbed and thrown off cliff in KZN

A 38-year-old man was arrested on Friday night in connection with the murder of a pregnant woman in KwaZulu-Natal.

Murder of pregnant woman in KZN

Image via: Adobe Stock

A pregnant woman was found strangled, raped and stabbed on a cliff in KwaZulu-Natal on 30 June. On Saturday 4 July — four days later — a 38-year-old man was arrested for her murder. This is yet another cruel incident of gender-based violence that has been raging through our country in recent weeks.  

The man, now in custody for two counts of murder and rape, will appear in the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court soon. 

BODY OF PREGNANT WOMAN FOUND ON CLIFF

On 30 June 2020, the body of Zilandile Xulu, 34, was found on a cliff after she disappeared from her home on 27 June 2020. 

“Her disappearance was not reported to the police. The deceased was allegedly strangled to death, stabbed and raped. A case was opened at Hlobane police station for investigation,” said Captain Nqobile Gwala. 

“The police investigation revealed that the deceased was killed in her bedroom, dragged out and thrown down the cliff. She was seven-months pregnant,” added Gwala. 

When the body of Xulu was discovered, she had a visibly broken neck and stab wounds to the stomach. 

“The persistence by Hlobane detectives to solve the case led to the arrest of the suspect on Friday night after an exhaustive operation with the Vryheid K9 Unit. The suspect had fled his home and hid in a dense mountainous forest, in an attempt to evade arrest,” said Gwala.  

The Provincial Commissioner in KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula welcomed the arrest and commended the team that worked around the clock to ensure that the case was solved. 

TSHEGOFATSO PULE FOUND MURDERED LESS THAN ONE MONTH AGO 

Tshegofatso Pule, 28, was found stabbed and hanging from a tree in Roodeport on Monday 8 June — less than one month ago. 

Pule was eight months pregnant at the time of her death. Pule’s horrific death gripped the nation and sadly, other incidents of gender-based violence continued to follow. 

Pule was laid to rest during a heart-wrenching funeral service in Soweto on Thursday 11 June.

Then, on Wednesday 17 June, police confirmed that a 31-year-old man had been arrested while travelling from Mpumalanga to Gauteng. 

Police spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza confirmed that the suspect had been arrested two days earlier but, due to the sensitivity of the case, police decided to hold back on releasing information to the public until the court was ready to receive the alleged killer.