Thamaga elderly man axes wife and hangs himself

Spira Tlhankane | Wednesday May 13, 2015 16:27

The incident reportedly occurred last week Tuesday night, and the bodies discovered on Wednesday morning.

According to Thamaga Police Station Commander Superintendent Moses Makgoeng, police rushed to the scene as soon as the incident was reported.

“When they arrived at the scene, they found a woman aged between 60 and 65 lying dead in bed, drenched in a pool of blood.

There was a bloody axe laid next to her bed. Police discovered a deep gashing wound just below her eardrum,” he explained.

He added that while police were still at the scene, they were alerted to a body hanging from a tree outside.

“The man was later confirmed to be the husband of the deceased. Police took the two to the hospital where they were confirmed dead,” he said. Makgoeng said although investigations were at a preliminary stage, they suspected that the man had killed the old woman before hanging himself.

He added that the incident was reported by one of the deceased’s children that morning after she discovered her mother’s corpse.

“We don’t know what could have led to this unfortunate incident but it occurred while the deceased’s children were sleeping.

No one heard anything suspicious at night, and the man is alleged to have hacked the woman to death while she was sleeping.

The children claim the elderly couple had no disagreement, so don’t know what triggered the murder suicide,” he said.

Makgoeng expressed shock that an elderly married couple could be involved in a murder suicide, as such incidents were prevalent among the youth.

 He advised Batswana to seek the services of marriage counsellors and the intervention of elders to help them solve their personal issues, instead of resorting to violence. This is the first murder suicide case recorded by the Thamaga Police this year.