Twins die a day apart
HOURS after hearing that her twin sister had been strangled during a house robbery, a Phoenix great-grandmother had a stroke and died.
Last Wednesday, Rookmoney Moodley, 70, a retired clothing factory worker, was found dead in the bedroom of her Northcroft, Phoenix, home, by her son Mervin. She had been strangled with the belt of her gown.
For him, the loss of his mother and aunt, Radha Moodley, is a double blow to their family.
“They grew up in Mayville, and even when my mother moved to Phoenix, she bought a house for her sister a road away so they could be close to each other.”
He broke the news of his mother’s death to his aunt later that evening. She had a stroke the next morning.
Mervin said his mother’s body had been found after she failed to open the gate for his daughter after school.
His telephone calls to her went unanswered, and he drove home to check on her.
“The kitchen burglar gate and door were open. In the one bedroom, a safe which was mounted on the wall was removed. It contained cash, jewellery, numerous car keys and other items. I then found my mother lying on the bed in the second bedroom. I checked her pulse. She was dead.”
He said their home had an alarm and electric fence, and he believes the killer could be someone known to the family.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said an undisclosed amount of cash, the house keys and a cellphone were missing.