2 girls found dead, mom missing

2010-07-31 12:13

Johannesburg - Pretoria police were searching for the mother of two young girls, who were found dead in their house in Theresa Park in Pretoria on Friday.

Police spokesperson Constable William Mahlaole said the bodies of a four-year-old girl and her eight-month-old sister were found by a friend of their mother when she visited their home north of Pretoria.

The chidren's mother and her car was nowhere to be found, and police were searching for her.

Mahlaole said it looked as if the four-year-old girl had been drowned because there was water in a bath nearby.

The baby was believed to have been smothered with a hat that was still lying on her face when police entered the house.

No visible bruises or wounds were present on either of the children.

Mahlaole said the friend went to the house to deliver something and saw that the door of the house was open.

She called out for the mother but there was no reply so she phoned the local security company.

The security company arrived and together they inspected the house, finding that the house was in disarray and had a rancid smell.

The mother of the children last spoke to family members on Thursday. Mahlaole said she had been missing since Friday morning.

Police suspected that either the mother was involved in the children's deaths or that robbers killed them and kidnapped the mother.

There were no signs of forced entry.

Police were investigating the cause of the children's' deaths.

The father of the children passed away in February.

- SAPA