A 29-year-old man who was arrested in connection with the murders of Chantelle Ash and their nine-month-old daughter Tasneem at a Limpopo lodge two weeks ago was expected to make a formal bail application on Friday.    

Mohammad Nasir was apprehended in Brixton, Johannesburg, hours after the 20-year-old mother and infant were found dead at a lodge along the R518 near Masodi village in Limpopo. 

He made his first court appearance at the Mokerong magistrate’s court on January 22. 

The deceased had been strangled with their hands tied from the back. Their decomposing bodies were discovered by a lodge receptionist.  

“The couple rented a room for overnight accommodation without providing their personal information and promised the receptionist they would check out the next day, at 9am on January 13,” said police spokesperson Col Moatshe Ngoepe.  

“The following day, the receptionist decided to check on them and made the gruesome discovery. There was no presence of the male person who came to the lodge with them.”

The motive behind the incident was unclear but police could not rule out the possibility of domestic violence.

Investigations were ongoing.

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