A nanny who had been caring for a 21-month-old toddler for the past 17 months has been arrested for allegedly strangling the boy and hiding his body in a closet, and then claiming that he had been abducted, Sowetan reported.
Lerato Mnguni, 28, the mother of Langalihle, or Lihle, as he was affectionately known, reportedly arrived at her house in Daveyton in Ekurhuleni on Friday with her aunt and Lihle’s father where they discovered he was missing.
They found the nanny, Mannana Tshabane, 39, in her bedroom, praying on the floor with her top off, according to Times Live. There was allegedly a white substance around her. She reportedly had small abrasions and had vomited and defecated.
According to Sowetan, the nanny claimed that there had been four intruders in the house who had abducted Lihle.
She reportedly claimed that she was almost raped and had wounds on her arms, which she claimed were stab wounds.
An ambulance was called to attend to Tshabane’s injuries and paramedics asked that she be cleaned up before they would take her to hospital,
When the aunt went to the storeroom to fetch a washtub, she reportedly found Lihle lying on the floor, with a bandage tied across his mouth and head, covered with a blanket.
Poison claims
Tshabane then claimed she and the toddler were poisoned by the intruders, but toxicology reports have since disproved this, according to Sowetan. The post-mortem report reportedly indicated that Lihle had been strangled.
Tshabane appeared in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder on Monday.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said in a statement: “A woman is expected to make a second appearance in court next week, following the death of a 20-month-old toddler. She appeared in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court [on Monday] after a preliminary investigation by the police linked her to the death of the child.
“Initially, the woman had claimed to police that robbers had come into the house and forced her to consume poison, as well as the child. The child was found dead while the woman was rushed to hospital. But when police conducted the initial investigation surrounding the death of the child, the woman was found to be a possible suspect,” Peters said.
