Missing woman’s body badly burnt
‘KARABO’S parents are numb; they can’t even talk. They are just sitting there in their house almost as if they are also dead.”
These were the harrowing words of Tshepo Mokoena, paternal uncle of Karabo Mokoena, who was allegedly killed and burnt by her boyfriend.
Karabo had been missing since April 28, her disappearance the subject of a social media frenzy. But yesterday, she was confirmed dead.
Tshepo described the painful experience he had to endure with Karabo’s mother when they went to the Sandton mortuary to identify his niece’s body.
“That was the worst experience I’ve ever gone through. We did not see Karabo in person but were shown pictures of her burnt body.
“She is burnt beyond recognition, but we could obviously identify her with other features of her body because we knew her very well,” he said, the pain in his voice almost tangible.
Tshepo added that Karabo’s siblings had gone to the suspect’s Sandton apartment on April 29 to see if she was there, but they found her ID book and passport with the building’s security officers – this, he said, made them realise that something was not right.
Tshepo said when the family were at the Sandton police station yesterday, they found out that Karabo had previously opened a case of assault against her boyfriend.
However, when contacted the station’s spokesperson, Constable David Mothapo, could not confirm the assault case, saying that it was Karabo’s boyfriend who had opened the case.
“Our records show it was the boyfriend who opened a case of common assault against a girlfriend. We don’t know whether the girlfriend was indeed Karabo, but (the suspect) was the one who opened the case,” Mothapo said.
Stephanie Leong, one of Karabo’s close friends, said that her friend’s boyfriend “was someone who knew the Bible and he was always spitting verses”.
“He was a smooth talker and had his way around everything, he was always neat and put together,” said Leong.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo confirmed that a murder charge had been opened, but said police were not ruling out further charges. He also would not comment on the allegations that the suspect had confessed.