Riot Hlatshwayo
Riot Hlatshwayo
An 18-year-old is facing two charges of murder for allegedly slitting his stepmother's throat after he had killed the baby he fathered with his half-sister.
Edward Chilenge had been charged with killing the baby, together with his half-sister, two years ago.
Police suspect he then slit the throat of his 40-year-old stepmother, Joanna Amando Ngobe, last month to silence her because she was to have been a state witness in the court case of her murdered grandchild.
Chilenge was arrested for her murder last week while appearing in the Nelspruit magistrate's court on a separate murder charge related to the death of his newborn baby in June 2006.
Police said Ngobe was killed on July 1.
She was found with a plastic bag over her head and pieces of human flesh in her mouth.
This indicated she had put up a fight and had bitten her killer or killers, police said.
Chilenge and the mother of the child allegedly killed the baby "out of embarrassment", police said.
He was arrested while the teenage mother was in Mozambique.
KaNyamazane police spokesman, Captain Phillip Fakude said: "We believe they were too embarrassed to handle the situation so they conspired to kill the child.
"The baby's body was recovered from a shallow grave that was pointed out by the accused."
Charges against Chilenge for the baby's murder were later provisionally withdrawn in court because the main state witness, Ngobe, could not be found .
"We reinstated the case after the woman resurfaced," Fakude said.
"But she was murdered before giving evidence in court on Tuesday last week," he said.
Chilenge, originally from Mozambique, has been remanded in custody pending his next court appearance this month.
He is in Nelspruit prison awaiting trial.
Teen accused of killing baby, mom
Riot Hlatshwayo
Riot Hlatshwayo
An 18-year-old is facing two charges of murder for allegedly slitting his stepmother's throat after he had killed the baby he fathered with his half-sister.
Edward Chilenge had been charged with killing the baby, together with his half-sister, two years ago.
Police suspect he then slit the throat of his 40-year-old stepmother, Joanna Amando Ngobe, last month to silence her because she was to have been a state witness in the court case of her murdered grandchild.
Chilenge was arrested for her murder last week while appearing in the Nelspruit magistrate's court on a separate murder charge related to the death of his newborn baby in June 2006.
Police said Ngobe was killed on July 1.
She was found with a plastic bag over her head and pieces of human flesh in her mouth.
This indicated she had put up a fight and had bitten her killer or killers, police said.
Chilenge and the mother of the child allegedly killed the baby "out of embarrassment", police said.
He was arrested while the teenage mother was in Mozambique.
KaNyamazane police spokesman, Captain Phillip Fakude said: "We believe they were too embarrassed to handle the situation so they conspired to kill the child.
"The baby's body was recovered from a shallow grave that was pointed out by the accused."
Charges against Chilenge for the baby's murder were later provisionally withdrawn in court because the main state witness, Ngobe, could not be found .
"We reinstated the case after the woman resurfaced," Fakude said.
"But she was murdered before giving evidence in court on Tuesday last week," he said.
Chilenge, originally from Mozambique, has been remanded in custody pending his next court appearance this month.
He is in Nelspruit prison awaiting trial.
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