Katlehong mother arrested

The mother of two toddlers found dead in the veld near Zonkizizwe, Katlehong, on the East Rand, has been arrested, police said on Thursday.

   

"Further investigations into the death of the girls has led police to arrest the mother of two girls who were found dead yesterday [Wednesday]," said Lt-Col Lungelo Dlamini.

   

"She will be charged with two counts of murder. She is now under police guard at the Natalspruit hospital."

   

Residents found the children on Wednesday.

 

Their mother told the police her husband left her and their children in the veld on Tuesday, while on their way from Witbank to Johannesburg.

   

She claimed they slept in a small, abandoned house overnight and that her husband left them with cooldrink, which they drank on Tuesday night.

 

When she woke up on Wednesday morning the children were dead.

 

The woman was taken to hospital on Wednesday in a critical, but stable condition.

   

"It has been established that an initial statement submitted by her to the police was false," said Dlamini. "Police interviewed several witnesses who confirmed that she has not been in Witbank and her family is in Zonkizizwe," he said. "The father of the two little children was traced and submitted a statement to the police. It is suspected that the girls died of poisoning."

   

The motive for the killing was thought to relate to domestic issues between the father and the mother.

 

Post mortems were conducted on Thursday, but the results were not yet available, Dlamini said.

   

-Sapa