A 31-year-old man, believed to be responsible for the deaths of his girlfriend and their 11-year-old daughter, was arrested after being on the run for three months, Nellmapius police confirmed.
Nellmapius alleged family killer in police custody
In a statement, Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello confirmed the 31-year-old was “arrested yesterday at Lebowakgomo in Limpopo province after he handed himself to the police.”
“The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Gauteng, Lieutenant Elias Mawela has welcomed the arrest of the 31-year-old man who has been on the run after he allegedly killed his girlfriend and an 11-year-old child on 20 March 2022 at Nellmapius,” Colonel Sello said.
Kenneth Majozi Debella was named as a person of interest after the bodies of his girlfriend, Beverly Makhura and daughter Tshepang, were discovered in the room he resided in at his father’s house, on 20 March 2022.
According to authorities, Makhura was last seen leaving a local tavern with Debella on that fateful evening. When she had failed to show up the next day, the Makhura family had sent Tshepang over to Debella’s house to check on her 31-year-old mother.
However, she too never returned.
“The community of Nellmapius found the mother and daughter dead in the suspect’s room after along search. The daughter was found on top of the bed while the mother was found underneath the bed,” police spokesperson Warrant Officer Isaac Mcunu said in a statement at the time.
Debella went on the run for three months and, feeling the walls closing in on him with very few places left to hide, he turned himself over to authorities.
The alleged family killer is expected to make his first at the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, on two counts of murder.
It is understood that the State will more than likely file an application to have Debella remanded in custody for the entire duration of his case.