Police in Matabeleland North Province are intensifying their search for a 16-year-old suspect, Romeo Mupindi, accused of brutally killing his 17-year-old cousin, Prosperity Mutizwa.
The shocking incident took place on Tuesday afternoon, where the suspect allegedly axed and beheaded his cousin while she was asleep, mutilating her body and dumping it on the edge of a maize field.
Confirming the gruesome murder, Matabeleland North Province Police Spokesperson Inspector Glory Banda expressed deep concern over the incident.
The whereabouts of the suspect are unknown.
He resided at Clever Mupindi’s homestead in Siamputeni 44 village, Chishizya, Chief Sinamagonde, Binga.
According to police, on February 26, around 12 PM, the informant left home to attend a local court session, leaving the suspect and the deceased together. Upon returning home, the informant’s son, Previous Mutizwa (13), discovered his cousin’s lifeless body on the verandah while the suspect was engrossed in watching videos on his phone in one of the bedrooms.
Startled, Previous hurriedly returned to the grazing area, leaving the suspect and the deceased alone. Later that day, around 4 p.m., as the informant was making her way back home, she stumbled upon a grisly scene. She found a piece of human flesh placed inside a hand-drawn circle with a cross on the road, approximately 200 meters away from her homestead.
The informant continued her walk and discovered her daughter’s decapitated head. After reaching her homestead, she questioned her son, who claimed ignorance of the incident, as he had left the suspect and his deceased sister at home when he went back to the bush.
Alarmed by this revelation, the mother and son embarked on a search for the remains of the deceased. Bloodstains were found on a wrapping cloth where the deceased had been sleeping on the verandah. They followed footprints leading to the dumped remains, which were discovered at the edge of a maize field.
Investigations revealed that the deceased’s left leg had been severed at the knee, a piece of flesh had been removed from her right thigh, and her stomach showed signs of protruding flesh. Lusulu Police were alerted and arrived at the scene, where they documented the evidence, including bloodstained clothing, damaged cell phones, and the bloodied murder weapon.
The remains of the deceased were taken to the Hwange Colliery Hospital mortuary, awaiting a post-mortem.
