Detectives working on the homicide of Tshegofatso Pule have kept their cards close to their chests on details of the case but a mole in the precinct leaked information on Muzikayise Malephane’s account of how the mom-to-be came to her tragic death.
Muzikayise Malephane is cooperating with police
Malephane appeared briefly at the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday afternoon, where he was officially charged with premeditated murder. The 31-year-old recanted his right to apply for bail and thus will remain in custody until his next court hearing which has been scheduled for Wednesday 24 June 2020.
For the heinous crime he allegedly committed, Malephane seemed very remorseful when he appeared at the dock.
Reports from Sowetan suggest that he is fully cooperating with authorities and according to his sworn statement, he was hired to kill Tshegofatso Pule.
Tshegofatso Pule was doomed months before her death
The cited publication claims to have seen Malephane’s police statement, which places him as a killer contracted by someone who was close to the victim.
Malephane reportedly swore that he was promised a payment totalling R70 000 if he got rid of the mom-to-be. He allegedly told investigators that a mastermind behind the murder was very much involved in how Pule was going to be executed and there were previous attempts that weren’t successful.
The 31-year-old allegedly shared a chilling account of how Pule’s death was supposed to have been executed a month ago.
The suspect revealed that he and the mastermind behind the hit had scheduled an interview with Pule for a fake job opening in Mondeor, Johannesburg.
The plan was to lure her out to an undisclosed location, kidnap her and “put her lights out.”
However, for some reason, the 28-year-old never turned up to the meeting.
Details on how Tshegofatso Pule was allegedly killed
Sowetan shared an excerpt of the statement where Malephane recalled the events that allegedly took place on the evening Pule was killed.
“On the day of her murder (June 4), both suspects arranged an Uber ride for the victim to be picked up and [taken] to a flat in Florida. Then both suspects started an argument with the victim while driving and as a result the other party allegedly took out a sharp object and stabbed the victim several times.
“They then proceeded to [bushes in] Durban Deep, hanged her with a rope on the tree and left her helpless,” the statement allegedly reads.
There is a second suspect: Who are they?
Police have yet to announce the arrest of the second suspect. Interestingly, the alleged accounts of that fateful Thursday evening reveal an important clue about who it may be.
Speaking with Sowetan, a relative of the victim recalled that the 28-year-old had left home saying she is going to visit her boyfriend who, it is to be presumed, was the father of the unborn child.
However, hours later, the family received a call from Pule stating that a fight had broken out between her and the boyfriend and that she was coming home.
“She got into a fight with her boyfriend and demanded to leave. We tried calling her later that night but we couldn’t get through to her. We called again from Friday until Sunday but her phone was off,” the relative told the cited publication.
If Malephane’s statement is to be believed, then he may have posed as the Uber driver to execute the long-awaited hit, with another suspect very much involved in the killing.
Much has yet to be revealed in this murder case and updates will be provided as they trickle in.