Charmaine Bila, 38, is set to appear in court on two murder charges and attempted murder accusations stemming from allegations of hiring hitmen to kill for insurance claims.
The accused was arrested on Friday, November 17, and appeared in the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court on Monday, November 20.
Police in North West said Bila’s arrest came after an incident on Sunday, September 24, in which 26-year-old Sandy Maleshane and her 31-year-old partner were allegedly fired at while in a house at Khuma Location outside Stilfontein.
It has been alleged that Maleshane’s boyfriend was shot and confronted while answering a knock at the door.
Despite his successful escape and eventual hasty hospital admission for medical attention, his girlfriend was pronounced dead on the spot following her alleged shooting by two male suspects.
Bila was detained after a thorough investigation as it was alleged that she had hired two hitmen to murder the victim in order to file an insurance claim.
Subsequent inquiries associated the defendant with one additional homicide purportedly carried out in Klerksdorp just hours before the Khuma event on September 24.
Police were called to the arson scene, where they discovered Thys Safatsa’s charred body — which paramedics had pronounced dead — when they arrived. Consequently, there is an inquest case.
However, the meticulous investigation, with the guidance of the prosecution, linked Bila to the incident, and the inquest docket was changed to murder after it emerged that Sefatsa was also killed for an insurance claim.
According to the investigations, the accused positively claimed R320 000 in respect of the two deceased, who were her cousin and father, respectively.
Bila was remanded in detention until December 6 following her appearance in the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court on November 28 in connection with Sefatsa’s death.
On Wednesday, November 29, the accused appeared in the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court in connection with the suspected murder of Maleshane. For this charge, she was remanded in detention until Thursday, December 7.
North West Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, and the Director for Public Prosecutions, Dr Rachel Makhari, lauded the police, prosecution, and everyone else for the collaborative efforts that led to the breakthrough.
They warned that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring that justice is served.
The Star
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za