Daughters ‘plotted to kill mom’ to cash in R80k funeral policy
A trial is underway in the Mbombela high court regarding the murder of 62-year-old Wanter Dlamini, who was allegedly killed by her daughters for insurance money. A witness testified that she had warned her mother against visiting the location where she was ultimately murdered.
Why it matters
This case highlights extreme instances of familial violence driven by financial motives, drawing significant public attention to the legal proceedings.
The child of an Mpumalanga woman allegedly killed by her daughters so they could cash in a funeral policy has testified in court that she begged her mother not to go to the place where she was raped and strangled.
After her murder, her body was transported to a railway track so a train could run over it.
Bessie van Der Merwe was testifying at the Mbombela high court on Tuesday where her sister Bathabile Mthunywa, 39, their neighbour Nombuso Ndwandwa, 41, and Steen Mashakeng, 36, are on trial for the murder of 62-year-old Wanter Dlamini. She was murdered on January 5 2020.
Mashakeng is the boyfriend of Van der Merwe’s sister Nonhlanhla Mthunywa, who entered into a plea agreement with the state and is currently serving a 20-year sentence.
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