Delmas – A convicted murderer, 41-year-old Thabo Silas Tsotetsi, who concealed the body of his girlfriend in the ceiling of his house, has been sentenced to life in prison.
This week, the High Court sitting in Delmas, Mpumalanga, on Wednesday (6 March 2024), meted out the maximum sentence to the accused.
During 2022, Tsotetsi killed his girlfriend and hid her body in the ceiling of their Balfour home.
Recalling events leading to the discovery of the body, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said: “This shocking discovery was made on 4 October 2022 by a female companion, who has a child with the accused.
“It is said that this woman went to the house and smelt an unpleasant odor.”
She couldn’t figure out what the odor was so she alerted the police.
The pungent smell led the police to the ceiling where they made the gruesome find – the decomposing body of 34-year-old Nosipho Caroline Mthombeni.
Colonel Mdhluli said: “Days later, the woman reported the matter to the police who investigated and it was during this period when the members at Balfour discovered the decomposed body of a female whose gender was only identified through polished nails and shoes.
“Later through investigation, it became known that the badly decomposed body was that of Mthombeni who was in a relationship with the accused.”
However, Tsotetsi was nowhere to be found.
Six months later, in April 2023, Tsotetsi was arrested at his hideout in Emalahleni (formerly Witbank).
Tsotetsi was remanded in custody throughout his trial in which he was found guilty of murder.
He is now serving a life sentence in prison.
