Cape Town - A man accused of killing his girlfriend and stuffing her remains in a freezer coldly stared at the prosecutor who read how the grim discovery was made.
Brian Miripiri was arrested on Saturday after the police and family members of Busisiwe Mthethwa, 56, found her chopped-up body in a chest freezer in her Samora Machel home.
He then reportedly went home with another woman and spent a night with her.
The victim was last heard from two days before the arrest.
Miripiri reportedly told the people close to her that she had decided to go to the Eastern Cape.
Her relatives were informed by a neighbour that the accused was selling her things.
“When we arrived there, the shack was locked. People said they hadn’t seen her the entire day on Friday, but he said she travelled around 7pm.
“Brian was at a local shebeen when we arrived. I called our relatives in the Eastern Cape and she wasn’t there. I didn’t feel good about this, so I went back to Busisiwe’s home, and Brian was still not there.”
The relative said they went to the police station and asked for an escort.
“When we got there we saw him in the road and the police told him to open the door. In the kitchen, we found a knife and the kitchen was ransacked. I heard my sister screaming that there was blood on the curtains.
“We asked him where Busisiwe was and he said she was in Blackheath. We knew it was a lie because she would never go anywhere without telling us.
“My brother noticed there were things piled inside the freezer. When he removed the most heavy item, he saw Busisiwe inside.”
Miripiri chose the Legal Aid lawyer to represent him.
The State said: “He is charged with murder under Schedule 5. On December 30, the police went to the home of the deceased, his girlfriend, as family reported her missing. At the home they found the accused.
“The police who attended the scene said it was like a fight had occurred. He told the police he hadn’t seen her for two days. They found the victim’s body in the chest freezer. He was then arrested. The State doesn’t have bail information.”
The case was postponed until yesterday for bail information.
Samora Machel community police forum chairperson Jacky Samuels said the incident has left her furious.
“I’m angry and deeply hurt. We are going to get a petition and attend court. We didn’t go yesterday because the investigating officer didn’t inform the family about the appearance.
“He was so calm when he was asked about her whereabouts. He lied. He went to get another woman and slept with her in the same room, in the same shack. How long must women suffer at the hands of men?”
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said their members, accompanied by family members, attended a missing person’s complaint at a premises in Jeff Masemola Street, where the victim’s boyfriend was alone.
“The officer searched the house and found the victim’s body in a freezer.”