WOMAN DROWNS DISABLED MOM
Body found in pool
A 33-YEAR-OLD woman allegedly strangled her disabled mother before throwing her body into a swimming pool in Glen Marais, Kempton Park, on Sunday.
The incident, according to family members, took place in front of the alleged killer’s four-year-old boy. The body of Refilwe Monamodi, 54, was found floating in a swimming pool behind her house.
Her daughter has since been arrested and charged with murder. She was arrested at a shopping centre shortly after the incident.
Police spokesman Captain Jethro Mtshali said the woman was expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s court today.
Yesterday, Monamodi’s younger sister Agnes, 50, detailed how she found her sister’s body floating in the pool after receiving a frantic call from a neighbour.
“Her daughter dragged her from the front of the house to the back where she threw her into the pool. I found her lying face up.”
Agnes said her sister, who was an advocate in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, was partially disabled after a horrific car crash in 2002.
The crash left her paralysed on the left side of her body. Her payouts from the Road Accident Fund and her insurance apparently became a source of conflict between the mother and daughter.
Agnes said the daughter quit her job and started demanding money from her mother.
“At times I would find that my sister was assaulted and left bruised,” she said.
Agnes said she would take her sister away from the house to defuse the situation but she would still go back.
She said numerous cases were opened against the daughter but her mother would bail her out.
Police, however, could not confirm this.
“They normally fought over bank cards when the daughter wanted to withdraw funds from her account,” recalled Agnes. “She drove her mother’s two cars and had a stable home but she still wanted [more] money.”
Agnes said the two had a big fallout in December, but she was surprised when she heard that they had gone on a holiday a week later.
“I rushed here in December and found that she had assaulted my sister, whose eyes were badly swollen from the assault and spent three days in hospital. A week later, I heard that they were on holiday in Magaliesburg.”
Monamodi’s elder sister Patricia said the child who witnessed the gruesome killing of his granny needed counselling.
Patricia said her sister always protected her daughter.
“She was in denial. She protected her daughter all the time and it was difficult to intervene. Their relationship was okay until after the accident,” she added.