A 48-year-old man was arrested in Bloemfontein in connection with the murder of a 86-year-old woman, Free State police said on Thursday.
Captain Chaka Marope said the elderly woman was found murdered at her house in Gardenia Park and the man, her gardener, was arrested on Wednesday after her neighbour found her body.
“When [the neighbour] peeped through the window, she noticed the victim`s body lying in a pool of blood in a supine position on her bedroom floor. She was also half-naked. The police were immediately alerted,” Marope said.
“Upon their arrival they [the police] broke open the door to enter the house. The victim was found having head injuries and it is suspected that she was attacked with a blunt object. The blood stains were scattered all over the walls and the bedrooms were ransacked.”
Marope said it was not known what household items were stolen. A case of murder was opened for further investigation.
“The possibility of additional charges of robbery and rape cannot be ruled out as the investigating team is still awaiting the autopsy report to determine whether the victim was sexually assaulted or not.”
The man was staying at the backroom of the woman’s house. During the preliminary investigation at the scene, the suspect’s cap and blankets were found with blood stains and the suspect failed to provide the police with satisfactory reasons to that effect, Marope said.
He is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Friday, on charge of murder.
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