Mdantsane police are searching for Siyasanga Mhlongo who is in his early 30s, who allegedly strangled his 28-year-old girlfriend to death, placed her in her bed, covered her with a blanket and spilt pills next to her lifeless body, suggesting she had committed suicide.
Mhlongo killed his previous girlfriend at her NU2 home in May 2013.
The Dispatch could not establish how many years he was sentenced to for the murder, but he is currently out on parole.
His latest alleged victim, Lumka Payiya, 28, was found dead on Sunday in the shack she had shared with the ex-convict at Eluxolweni informal settlement.
Payiya’s brother, Mkhululi Payiya, said his sister, who had been living with Mhlongo for the past three years, had wanted some “space” in their relationship.
Police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi on Friday confirmed they were investigating a murder case.
“Her lifeless body was discovered by her brother, who then summoned the police to the scene. Initially, an inquest docket was opened as we thought she died naturally.
“However, when the postmortem results came back, they showed that the victim had died as a result of strangulation and suffocation, resulting in the docket being changed to that of murder,” said Mbi.
“The investigation is ongoing and no arrest has been made yet, but all indications point to the boyfriend, who is now on the run.”
Mbi confirmed Mhlongo had previously been imprisoned for the murder of his previous girlfriend.
“He was on parole for that murder and had been signing every week at a police station since his release a few years back.”
Mbi, however, said he did not immediately have details at hand on when he had been released from prison and when his parole was supposed to lapse.
Mkhululi said his sister met Mhlongo three years ago through social media and later found out about his conviction for killing his former girlfriend.
“When we raised his history with her, she told us that everyone deserved a second chance.
“Because the guy, on his release from jail, was being tormented by community members at NU2, my sister decided to move in with him at her shack in Eluxolweni.
“He was not working for a number of years and my sister was taking care of his every need.
“When he managed to get a job last year, my sister told him in August that he should move out of the shack and try to build a life for himself elsewhere.
“They fought for some time about that, but eventually the boyfriend left in late August, with the couple coming to an agreement that they will visit each other when needs be.
“He then left to stay elsewhere,” said an emotional Mkhululi.
He said on the day before his sister’s body was discovered, she had visited him and told him that she had unexpectedly found her boyfriend inside her home because he had a key to the house.
“Lumka told me that she had asked him to leave the key behind when he leaves, and I think that is what triggered all this.”
Mkhululi said on the morning her body was discovered, Mhlongo had come to his nearby house with her eight-year-old son, asking him to look after the child as they both had commitments to attend to.
“I did not suspect anything, but later in the day I received a message from him saying I should not take the child back to the shack as her mother was no more.
“He told me that he had left the house keys on top of their dog’s house and when I visited the shack, it is when I made this gruesome discovery,” Mkhululi said...