Hlengiwe Langa was working towards getting a job to take her children to a better school in Gauteng, when she was killed on New Year’s Day.

Langa, 35, was unemployed and looking for a job so that she could help her relatives in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.

The mother of two teenagers, aged 16 and 13, was found lying dead on her bed in a room she shared with her boyfriend in Malvern, Johannesburg, on Saturday afternoon.

She had been living with her boyfriend since June last year, according to her relatives. The boyfriend is the main suspect.

Provincial police spokesperson Cpt Mavela Masondo said a case of murder has been opened at Cleveland police station.

“No arrest has been made yet and police are still searching for the suspect,’’ said Masondo.

Langa’s cousin, Nomvuyo Nene, 34, who lives in Orlando East, Soweto, said tenants at the residence where Langa lived with her boyfriend heard loud noises coming from her room in the early hours of Saturday morning.

“The tenants told me that my cousin and her boyfriend came back to their room around 3am from a party they had been to. They said the two were arguing and shouting. They even heard loud noises as if someone was being beaten,” said Nene.

Nene said her cousin was a quiet person who kept to herself. “She was secretive and preferred doing her things on her own,” said Nene.

Langa’s sister, Khanyisile Sithole, 37, said she was heartbroken by her sister’s murder.

“My sister died in a painful way. I am so hurt,” said Sithole.

When Sowetan visited the room where Langa lived with her boyfriend, a few of the other tenants were in the vicinity.

The room was completely empty and clean. Her family collected her belongings on Sunday, the day after her body was discovered.

One of the tenants who spoke to Sowetan on condition of anonymity alleged that in the early hours of the morning Langa's boyfriend switched off the main switch of their place.

“The whole passage was dark and we could not see anything. Around 8am we saw blood stains on the floor outside their room and on the walls. He was cleaning the blood with a wet mop. We asked him where Hlengiwe [Langa] was and he said she left and he is also looking for her. He did not allow us to go into their room,” said the tenant.

Another tenant who also spoke to Sowetan on condition of anonymity said the boyfriend then left the room and they went to check whether Langa was there.

“We went into the room and found her lying on the bed. We then called the police who arrived around 3pm,” said the tenant.