Law enforcement authorities in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) made the gruesome discovery of the Boston farm missing family at a wooded area more than 52km away in Byrne, Richmond.
What happened to the Boston farm missing family?
In a statement, police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker confirmed that weeks after the family from a farm in Boston, a small town situated in the Mkhomazi and Elands River valley of KZN, went missing, their charred remains were found on Monday 13 December 2021, at a deserted plantation in Byrne.
Relatives of the Boston farm missing family had reported them missing on Friday 19 November 2021. Preliminary investigations led by Boston SAPS determined that the family had been kidnapped at their farm three days earlier (Tuesday 16 November 2021) and a full-scale search operation was launched.
More than anything, police were in search of the family’s vehicle, which, it’s believed, was used to transport the missing family away from their farm.
Another twist to the tale came when police were informed that one other occupant of the farm, a 90-year-old elderly woman was not taken by the alleged kidnappers.
This, and other circumstantial evidence led authorities to believe the abduction may have had something to do with a family feud. Sure enough, the investigation led to the arrest of two suspects, aged 25 and 27, in at KwaZinqamu in Elandskop, on Saturday 11 December 2021.
The suspects were believed to be linked to the Boston farm missing family. After days of intense questioning, matched with increased search efforts by a multidisciplinary SAPS team assisted by Magma Security, a breakthrough in the investigation was reached.
“A joint operation was conducted yesterday (Monday) which led the team to Byrne in Richmond where the victim’s vehicle was found burnt. Further investigation led police to a plantation in Richmond where the gruesome discovered was made. The five burnt and decomposed bodies of the missing victims were found,” Naicker said.
Here are the names of the victims
The badly decomposed remains of the five missing family members were bagged and sent to the department of forensic pathology for testing to determine the cause and estimated time of death.
The charred remains recovered from the plantation in Byrne, Richmond, were that of:
- 64-year-old Sizwe Mauris Ngcobo;
- 41-year-old Thandazile Zondi;
- 40-year-old Bonokwakhe Khuboni;
- two-year-old Sibongile Fanelesibonge; and
- one-month-old Libra Ngcobo
The two suspects who are already in custody have been charged with the murders and alleged kidnapping of the Boston farm missing family, and according to Naicker, more arrests are on the cards.
KZN top-cop Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi also indicated that part of the investigation’s focus is on the belief that this gruesome mass murder was the consequence of an ugly family feud.
“At this stage, investigations indicate that their deaths may be linked to a family feud,” Mkhwanazi said.