Lucas Phasha, the man who allegedly killed his four children, was previously convicted of murder.
Phasha was convicted of murder after he shot a teenager while trying to shoot his ex-girlfriend in 2008, provincial police revealed yesterday.
Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed that their preliminary investigation revealed that Phasha was convicted of murder but did not have details about how long he had been imprisoned or when he was released on parole.
"The little information we managed to get is that he was jailed for murder and was released on parole. At the time he was trying to kill his ex-girlfriend and the bullet missed and hit a teenager. We are still busy with our investigations to get relevant information on the case," Mojapelo said.
Phasha's cousin Nkwane Phasha confirmed the man served time in jail for murder.
"At the time of the incident, he was practising as a lawyer and he was immediately struck off the roll," Nkwane said.
In the days leading to when he brutally killed the children, Phasha took to social media and said he was taking the minors away and leaving behind their mother who will eventually die of illness.
The Phasha children - Katlego, 9, Joyce, 7, Tshepo, 5, and Adel, 8 - were found dead at two separate locations in GaPhasha-Selatole near Burgersfort, in Limpopo.
Mojapelo said the man appeared in court on four counts of murder yesterday.
'Killer' dad previously served time for murder of teen
Lucas Phasha, the man who allegedly killed his four children, was previously convicted of murder.
Phasha was convicted of murder after he shot a teenager while trying to shoot his ex-girlfriend in 2008, provincial police revealed yesterday.
Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed that their preliminary investigation revealed that Phasha was convicted of murder but did not have details about how long he had been imprisoned or when he was released on parole.
"The little information we managed to get is that he was jailed for murder and was released on parole. At the time he was trying to kill his ex-girlfriend and the bullet missed and hit a teenager. We are still busy with our investigations to get relevant information on the case," Mojapelo said.
Phasha's cousin Nkwane Phasha confirmed the man served time in jail for murder.
"At the time of the incident, he was practising as a lawyer and he was immediately struck off the roll," Nkwane said.
In the days leading to when he brutally killed the children, Phasha took to social media and said he was taking the minors away and leaving behind their mother who will eventually die of illness.
The Phasha children - Katlego, 9, Joyce, 7, Tshepo, 5, and Adel, 8 - were found dead at two separate locations in GaPhasha-Selatole near Burgersfort, in Limpopo.
Mojapelo said the man appeared in court on four counts of murder yesterday.
"The father, Lucas Phasha, briefly appeared in the Mecklenburg magistrate's court yesterday where he faced four counts of murder and abandoned his bail application. His case was postponed to February 28 for further police investigations," Mojapelo said.
On Monday and Tuesday, Phasha posted on his timeline in Northern Sotho that he was very angry at his wife Sylvia Monyela and her alleged boyfriends.
However, Sowetan attempted to contact the numbers posted but they were all on voicemail. One of the men mentioned in the post responded to the posts and told Phasha where to get off.
"Don't blame me for your own problems Lucas, fix your family problems and stop blaming everyone. You are a man who lacks responsibility," the man wrote.
Between 10pm and 11pm of February 17, Phasha posted on Facebook seven times, complaining about his wife.
In one post he said: "As I speak, my children are alone, she doesn't wash their clothes or bath them."