Photo: The suspect, sitting.
Police arrest son for allegedly murdering own mother in S/Africa
A 33 year old man was arrested on Friday for allegedly killing his mother in the Hazelmere community of Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa.
An off-duty Policeman residing in the area contacted Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) for assistance at approximately 08:04 regarding the disappearance of an elderly female.
Officers were immediately dispatched and arrived on scene with the Verulam SAPS.
RUSA Paramedics entered a room and discovered the decomposing body of the 72-year-old victim, Daw Kerr on a bed in their rented communal housing room.
Her suspect son initially informed First Responders that she died of natural causes.
Reports say residents informed Law Enforcement Officers that the deceased was last seen on Tuesday.
They had enquired about her well being but her son continuously provided reasons as to why she did not want to be disturbed.
However, on Friday, they confronted him and demanded to conduct a wellness check on her.
The neighbors had suspected that she was deceased due to a pungent smell emanating from the room.
They thereafter approached the off-duty SAPS Official for assistance, who then contacted the RUSA Operations Centre and Verulam SAPS Charge Office.
Upon interrogation, the suspect provided Reaction Officers and Police with various different versions of events that led to Kerr’s demise.
After further questioning, he confirmed that his mother lived at a home in South Beach, Durban, which specialised in caring for frail individuals.
The suspect said that she had arrived at his home two weeks ago to visit him.
He further confessed that decided to bathe her in the bathroom on Tuesday.
The suspect further claimed that she refused to be bathed by him and turned violent and in a moment of anger he pushed her.
According to him, the old, frail woman fell to the ground and suffered head injuries.
Following the accident, he said that he dressed her and placed her on the bed before cleaning the blood from the bathroom.
He claimed to have left the apartment but later returned and discovered that she had died.
The suspect also confessed to have not informed anyone of his mother’s death but stayed in the apartment with her partially decomposing body for three nights.
He explained that during the day he would leave and return in the afternoon.
The suspect was then promptly arrested by Officers on scene without incident.
