No arrests have yet been made in the murder of a 60-year-old woman and five girls who were found dead in a house at Zwide township, Port Elizabeth, police said on Monday.
”We are waiting for the task team that was established to give us a report back on the investigation, but there have been no arrests,” Captain Ernest Sigobe said.
He said police were, however, following up on good leads.
The elderly woman was found in her bedroom and the children, aged between five and eight, were found in the bathroom on Sunday night.
Sigobe said a man in his 50s, who is the father of three of the five girls, made the discovery at about 10pm. The three girls were the woman’s granddaughters.
The other two children were from the neighbourhood. The elderly woman was babysitting the children.
Sigobe said the woman had visible injuries on her head and police believe that she was strangled. The children were found stacked on top of each other in a bathtub full of water.
Police are not sure about their exact cause of death.
Sigobe said there are signs that the door was forcefully opened. Nothing was missing from the house. Police believe the woman and the girls were alone when the incidents happened. — Sapa