Grim details emerge of family tragedy

2011-10-20 10:26

Charné Kemp, Volksblad

Bloemfontein - A woman from a village bordering the North West and the Northern Cape is believed to have drowned her five children in a bucket of water.

Police spokesperson Captain Cherelle Ehlers said a 35-year-old woman would be charged with murder in the Pampierstad district court on Thursday.

She went to her parents’ house in Majeakgoro village on Monday evening.

Her five children - three boys and two girls aged 13, 10, 5, 4 and 2 years old - were with her.

She was alone at the house with the children when the tragedy happened. A 10-year-old relative later found the children’s bodies and called the police.

“The woman was arrested on Tuesday,” said Ehlers.

Israel Itumeleng Lesimola, father of three of the children, lived with the woman and children in Mountain View.

Appeared to be happy

His brother, Patrick Lesimola, said the family appeared to be happy.

“We never knew anything was wrong.

“Police and my brother came here on Monday night. Police took me aside and told me what had happened.

“They asked me to support my brother. At the time he did not yet know the details.

“They took us to the grandparents’ house in Lower Majeakgoro.

“We went in and found the bodies in two rooms, on the floor and beds. All had blood running from their noses.”

In the rooms there were two 20-litre buckets of water. The mother presumably drowned them.

“She was nowhere to be found. We found her cellphone on the bedside table. Police found her on Tuesday on the riverbank,” he said.
 

- Volksblad