Rustenburg: A 25-year-old man was arrested in connection with the murder of a 61-year-old woman and her 5-year-old granddaughter, North West police said on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Captain Sam Tselanyane said the man was expected to appear in the Sannieshof Periodical Court on Thursday, facing two charges of murder and robbery.
This followed the gruesome murder of retired teacher Mmatiro Dithato in Ganalaagte, near Delareyville.
Tselanyane said Dithato was found dead at the New Stands Section in Ganalaagte.
“It is alleged that on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at about 6.36am, Mmatiro Clementine Dithato, 61, had a telephone conversation with her 21-year-old son.
“The deceased allegedly told her son not to come home anymore as they were supposed to go to town that morning, but they were not going anymore,” Tselanyane said.
“A few moments thereafter, the son allegedly received a text message from his mother’s cellphone informing him that he could go and collect money at about 9am. At about 9.22am the son went to his mother’s house and found that the sitting room’s window pane was broken.
“Upon entering the house, he found his mother’s lifeless body with multiple stab wounds, lying in a pool of blood on the sitting room’s floor. She had a rope around her neck.
“Furthermore, a 5-year-old girl was found drowned, head first in a big bucket full of water in the kitchen,” Tselanyane said.
The son called for help, and the deceased were transported to a local clinic where they were both declared dead on arrival.
IOL