Neighbours at an apartment in Kempton Park, where a woman was killed and her head was cut off, have told how the couple regularly fought.

Residents of the complex told Sowetan that an argument between two lovers had sparked the deadly fight. The 31-year-old boyfriend of the deceased was arrested at a shop that he ran with the deceased on Friday afternoon.

Kempton Park police spokesperson Captain Jethro Mtshali said the accused pointed out where he kept the head.

He made his first court appearance in the Kempton Park Magistrate's court yesterday, where he faced a charge of murder. He was not asked to plead.

"The victim's family has not yet been notified," said Mtshali. The matter was postponed to next week.

Neighbours said they heard the two arguing at about 10pm on Thursday. "She told him to get out of her life. 'You are nothing. You don't have a bed, the bed you sleep on is mine. Everything in this room is mine. Even the shop is mine.' She left the room at about 12am," said a neighbour.

The neighbour said the argument started again when the victim returned to the room a few moments later. "She said 'Open for me. I want to sleep'. When she was inside she asked him: 'Why do you hold a knife every time we have a fight? The next thing she was screaming and it went quiet . The man later went out to shower and when he returned we could hear him making sounds . He opened the fridge several times."

Another neighbour said she became concerned when the woman did not come out of the room the next day after her boyfriend left for work. "We asked the caretaker to open [the room]. The bed was not made and when he pulled one of the blankets he [got a fright of his life]," she said.

Another neighbour confirmed that the head was missing.