Suspected killer becomes murder victim
The man suspected of killing eManzimtoti resident Lorraine Bothma, has been murdered - allegedly by his own brother.
|||Durban - The body of eManzimtoti resident, Lorraine Bothma, 45, found decomposed at an informal dump site in Pietermaritzburg in May, has now been identified through DNA.
It has also turned out that the man suspected of her murder has been killed in a separate incident.
Bothma’s car, an orange Kia Picanto, is still missing.
Bothma was last seen in March, at the Bella Vista Hotel and Bar, Warner Beach, in the company of a friend on the night she went missing.
Police investigating officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Anton Booysen of the Durban Organised Crime Unit, said intensive investigations had led him to the area in Market Street where Bothma’s body was found.
Police spokesman, Major Thulani Zwane, said: “A case of murder was opened after the decomposed body of an unknown woman was found on May 4.”
A missing person case had still been under investigation at eManzimtoti police station.
The body matched the DNA analysis and on Thursday police confirmed it was Bothma’s.
Her suspected killer was identified as 32-year-old Zama Francis Mkhize,who lived in the area and who was recently allegedly murdered by his brother in Bulwer during an argument.
Mkhize had been working as a car guard and car washer and was the last person seen with Bothma.
Booysen traced Bothma’s and Mkhize’s cellphone records which revealed that they had travelled to Himeville, about 130km from Pietermaritzburg.
At the initial investigation stage, Booysen interviewed Mkhize who denied any knowledge of the incident.
Bothma’s parents – who could not be reached for comment last night – are said to be in Port Elizabeth.
They had given their DNA to the police. The mother’s DNA matched the body.
Booysen said on Wednesday he had searched for Mkhize, only to find out he had allegedly been murdered by his brother, who faces a murder charge.
Booysen had suspected that Bothma was somehow lured into Mkhize’s flat, where she was stabbed. It is believed that he then loaded her into her car and drove to Market Street, where he dumped her body.
Daily News