Elderly woman stabbed to death, apparently by her grandson

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An 80-year-old woman, Beatrice De Lange, was allegedly stabbed to death by her 31-year-old grandson at her home in New Germany, west of Durban, over the weekend.

Her body was dismembered and the suspected killer was seen playing with the woman's head, kicking her around the family home.

His grandson, Thabo Ntokozo Nzimande, was arrested after the incident and appeared briefly in the Pinetown Magistrate's Court.

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The case was postponed for further investigation and he was taken for medical examinations.

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza has expressed horror and sadness at the brutal murder of an elderly woman, calling it a brutal reflection of a wider societal issue where the lives of older people are at risk. increasingly neglected.

Khoza said the attack was heinous and reflected the worst form of moral decline. She said De Lange's murder was very painful and terrifying.

We are heartened that law enforcement quickly arrested the suspect. Such heinous acts of violence are completely unacceptable.

“The alleged dismemberment and violation of a corpse by his grandson, including the grotesque act of playing with his head, warrants an evaluation of his state of mind. We cannot exclude that drug addiction is a contributing factor to such a level of cruelty,” she said.

MEC Khoza called on members of society to provide support to the De Lange family during this difficult time.

As a society, we need to address mental health issues more effectively and combat drug addiction, which seems to be destroying our youth.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family and neighbors of the deceased. Our team of social workers will be dispatched to provide psychosocial support to the family,” she said.

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MEC Khoza also called on society to come together to stop such killings.

“We must work collectively to ensure our young people grow up with a sense of responsibility and compassion towards the elderly, to prevent such horrific incidents from happening again. »

She also sent a team of social workers to visit the family to provide psychosocial support.