Johannesburg – Nosipho Caroline Mthombeni might have been brutally murdered and her body hidden in a ceiling, but her spirit refused to be silenced, hence a breakthrough in her murder case.
Mthombeni, 34, was murdered six months ago; her severely decomposed body was found concealed in a ceiling in Balfour, Mpumalanga.
The police in Balfour arrested a 40-year-old man named Thabo Silas Tsotetsi, who went missing after Mthombeni’s body was discovered in the ceiling of the house he occupied in Balfour.
Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the discovery was made after the suspect's baby mama moved in with the suspect a month earlier.
“The baby mama alleged that she kept on complaining about the bad smell in the house, but Tsotetsi made her believe that it came from the dead rats around the house.”
Mohlala said on October 4, 2022, the lady (baby mama) decided to report the matter to the police as she was uncomfortable, so the police went to investigate.
“Upon thorough investigation in the house, police found a human body that was in a severe decomposition stage in such a way that it was even difficult to determine its gender.
“The police finally had a lead due to the victim’s shoes as well as the nail polish,” he said.
Mohlala said that it was also established that Tsotetsi disappeared three days before the discovery, as he reported to his baby mama that he was going to pay his bills and never came back.
He said the police intensified their investigation, which led to the arrest of Tsotetsi on April 14, 2023, in Witbank.
Tsotetsi made a brief court appearance in the Balfour Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Monday); he was remanded in custody, and the matter was postponed to May 17, 2023, for further investigation.
The provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, has welcomed the arrest and commended the investigation team for bringing the suspect to book.
The Star