A 33-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal is expected to appear in the Bergville Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, October 15 on five counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder for stabbing his relatives.
This comes after a manhunt was launched and he was arrested a few hours after the incident at his home in the Bethany area in Bergville on Saturday, October 12.
The provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the operation was led by the station commander and police quickly gathered information about the whereabouts of the suspect.
“Reports indicate that the suspect and his uncle went to visit the neighbours and on their return, the suspect found his mother sitting in the lounge with others. Information further suggests that the suspect took a knife from the couch and stabbed his mother who managed to run outside of the house,” Netshiunda said.
The suspect then turned his attention to his uncle, he was stabbed and died in the passage as he attempted to flee to the neighbours for safety.
“The suspect went on to stab and kill two girl children, aged two and six years old. The bloodthirsty suspect also stabbed and killed a woman who was living with disability, as well as another elderly woman who had visited the house. The suspect's mother and another four-year-old girl survived with multiple stab wounds,” Netshiunda said.
The suspect’s sister had managed to run to a place of safety with her one-year-old child.
“The suspect's sister managed to run to safety with her one-year-old baby. The exact ages of the other victims were yet to be verified. Preliminary investigations have confirmed that the suspect had several domestic violence-related cases opened against him, however, all of them were later voluntarily withdrawn,” Netshiunda said.