Pensioner and son nabbed for farm attack that left 84-year old woman dead

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Johannesburg - A 64-year old woman pensioner was among three people arrested for the murder of an 84-year old woman believed to have been assaulted and strangled to death on her Fochville farm in Gauteng. Although the body of the elderly woman was found with bruises on her neck and face, Gauteng Police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said they were still waiting for the post-mortem results to confirm the cause of death. Masondo said a farm worker reported for duty at the Elandsfontein farm in Fochville farm on Monday morning looking for his employer. He is alleged to have knocked many times and became suspicious when he did not receive a response. "He walked around the house and noticed the bedroom window that had been forced open. He immediately informed the tenant next door and they called family members who subsequently notified the police.

"Upon searching the house, police found the body of the woman hidden underneath the clothes in the dining room."

Masondo said police investigations led them to the woman's tenants - the 64-year-old woman, her son and the son's friend - who had been renting a flat in the property for the past three months.

The three were not present, but when police got into flat, they allegedly found the dead woman's electrical appliances which the three are believed to have stolen.

Masondo said through further investigations they traced the three to a house in Klerksdorp, where they were found with the dead woman's cellphone and wallet.

"After we arrested the son and the friend, they implicated the woman. We then arrested her too," Masondo said.

Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela commended the farm worker, neighbours, family members and police officers who helped in the apprehending of the three.

"Crime against elderly people remains one of our priorities and police will ensure that those who take advantage of defenceless senior citizens are hunted down and brought to justice" Mawela said.

Masondo said the three were expected to appear at Fochville Magistrate to face charges of murder and house robbery.

The Star