Mpumalanga police have launched a manhunt after a 24-year-old mother and her two-year-old daughter were killed at Siyethemba informal settlement in Balfour on Monday.
Police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said the mother was strangled while her little girl was found with a wound in her neck.
The woman's five-month-old child was found unharmed at the scene.
“According to the report, police received information that there was a murder that occurred at the said place and swiftly attended to it, where upon arrival they found the woman lying on the kitchen floor unresponsive as well as the two-year-old girl's lifeless body in the bedroom with an injury on her neck.
“They were both certified dead at the scene by paramedics. It was further revealed that the woman's five-month-old child was allegedly taken by his father and he is unharmed,” said Mohlala.
He said no-one had been arrested.
“Police request anyone with information that will assist with the case to contact Sgt Nhlanhla Tshabalala on 082-635-7143 or call the Crime Stop number on 08600-10111. Alternatively, members of the public can send information via the MySAPS app. All information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous,” said Mohlala.
Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Semakaleng Manamela said they were in dismay.
“We vow that the police will continue to fight the scourge of crimes against women and children. We hope that our investigators will swiftly make arrests and bring the doers of these gruesome murders to book,” she said.
