A 21-year-old woman has been arrested by the Vhulaudzi police in connection with the murder of her 12-day-old daughter. The shocking incident occurred on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Tshitavha Village.
According to reports, the suspect was at home with her infant daughter and her mother when the grandmother left to irrigate crops at around 14:00. After spending approximately an hour in the fields, the grandmother returned and found the suspect sitting inside their one-room house. She instructed her daughter to wake the baby and breastfeed her.
In response, the 21-year-old allegedly stated that the child had “fallen inside a pit toilet.” Initially dismissing the claim as a joke, the grandmother repeated her request, only for the suspect to reiterate the same chilling response.
Alarmed, the grandmother immediately called neighbors for help in retrieving the infant from the pit toilet. Local authorities and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were summoned to the scene, where the newborn was later pronounced dead.
During questioning, the suspect reportedly confessed to strangling her daughter with a shoelace until she lost consciousness before disposing of her body in the pit toilet.
The motive behind the incident remains unclear, and police investigations are ongoing. The suspect was arrested at the scene and is expected to appear before the Dzanani Magistrate’s Court on Friday, June 27, 2025, facing a murder charge.
