Postmortem results indicate that she died of suffocation

THE woman found dead and stuffed into a wardrobe last week in Bethlehem, Free State, has been identified.

Elizabeth Molefe's naked body was discovered in a flat belonging to the man who is accused of murdering her.

Sergeant Majang Skalkie of the Free State provincial police said postmortem results indicated that Molefe had died of suffocation.

Christian van Wyk, 39, who is currently out on R3000 bail, has been charged with Molefe's death.

Said Skalkie: "Molefe was found naked and shoved into the man's wardrobe. We believe the two met last Monday night and went to the man's flat.

"What happened after that is unclear but she was found dead in his flat."

Skalkie could not confirm whether the woman had been raped but revealed that the police were tipped off by Van Wyk's father, who suspected that there was something wrong after he had spoken to his son on the phone.

"Van Wyk's father told the police that on speaking to his son he picked up a negative vibe from him. He then phoned police. They went to the suspect's house where they found the woman," Skalkie said.

Molefe's sister, Madaeke, who is unemployed, said she could not afford to bury her.

"I hope the man who was last seen with my sister will come forward and help me bury her. I am unemployed and will not be able to bury her," Madaeke Molefe said.

"Our mother died in December and she arrived on the Saturday of the funeral.

"She left on Monday immediately after the funeral.

"She only came back again in January. That was the last time I saw her."

Asked what she thought her younger sister did for a living, Molefe said she believed she was a prostitute.

"I think she was a prostitute. Somebody from our neighbourhood in Senekal once told me that she saw her with other hookers in town.

"From what I heard, she was a prostitute. I pleaded with her to come back home but she would not listen," Molefe added.

Van Wyk will appear again in the Bethlehem Magistrate's Court on May 14.