Three farmers, including a teenager, are under arrest in South Africa after local authorities allegedly found the decomposing bodies of two women in a pigsty on a farm owned by one of the suspects.
The bodies of Maria Makgato, 47, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were found on a farm in the South African province of Limpopo, per The Associated Press and local outlets TimesLive and DispatchLive.
The farm owner Zachariah Olivier, 60, along with Adriaan De Wet, 19, and William Musora, 45, were arrested in connection with the deaths, the outlets reported. (The suspects’ names and spellings appear slightly differently across the outlets. The Associated Press report names De Wet as Andrian Rudolph De Wet and TimesLive spells Musora’s name as Musoro).
They all face two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of possession of an unlicensed firearm, per the Associated Press, DispatchLive and TimesLive. Musora, a Zimbabwean, is also facing a charge related to immigration for allegedly being in the country illegally, per TimesLive and the Associated Press.
Local radio station Jacaranda FM, alongside TimesLive and the Associated Press, citing authorities, report the deaths took place in August.
While the exact dates are unclear, TimesLive reports the two women were reported missing on Aug. 17, and News24 reports they were allegedly killed on that day, but a more concrete timeline of events was not immediately clear.
Per the Associated Press, prosecutors allege the victims trespassed into Olivier’s farm after a dairy company’s truck offloaded possibly expired products at the location. The women were allegedly trying to collect the goods, per authorities.
Makgato and Ndlovu were allegedly shot and killed, Limpopo police said, per TimesLive. A man who was with them survived the alleged attack and escaped, screaming for help, TimesLive and the Associated Press reported.
Once that man notified police, they found the women’s decomposing bodies in the pigsty, per the Associated Press.
“Both women sustained gunshot wounds and a 47-year-old foreign national man, who was with them, was also shot and hospitalised. Police investigations are ongoing,” Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said, per TimesLive.
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The remains of the victims were allegedly fed to pigs, authorities said, per the Associated Press, Jacaranda FM and local outlet News24.
“This is one of the most disturbing and inhumane acts in our province, and we will ensure those responsible face the full might of the law,” Thembi Hadebe, provincial police commissioner, said, per TimesLive.
“Remember that the victims were killed while they were looking for food,” Sindisiwe Chikunga, the Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, told the media, per Jacaranda FM.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the suspects have entered pleas.
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