A mentally disturbed woman allegedly killed an 81-year-old woman in Cresta shopping centre in Johannesburg on Monday, police said. Captain Schalk Bornman said the pensioner’s throat was slit with a knife.
The disturbed woman escaped from the custody of her father while they were sitting at a restaurant, and allegedly slit the pensioner’s throat before walking away, he said.
A security guard apprehended her and handed her over to police. Bornman said police did not yet know how the woman got hold of a sharp chef’s knife.
Management at the centre was ”distressed and bewildered” by the incident, a statement said. It said the centre had a high level of security and was trying to curb crime.
”This morning’s incident was of such an extraordinary nature that it by no means reflects our security presence and effectiveness,” said acting general manager Vanessa Loots.
She extended condolences to the family of the victim.
Popo Maja, spokesperson for the Sterkfontein Mental Hospital where the woman had been a patient, said there had been no indication that she was violent.
”There is no past history of violence on our records.”
She had been in the Sterkfontein Mental Hospital since January this year, but in June was assessed by a team of specialists and released indefinitely into the custody of her family.
Maja said she had been referred to a local clinic for medication, and was not being monitored by the hospital in any way.
”We therefore don’t know whether she was taking her medication correctly.”
Maja was not able to provide any more information on the mental state of the woman, as it would be a breach of confidentiality.
Bornman said police were obtaining statements from the woman and her father.
She will appear in the Randburg District Court on Tuesday on a charge of murder. – Sapa