‘Insurance murder’ victim burnt alive, says pathologist
Sithebe’s body found on unburnt bed and blanket
The Pretoria high court has heard of how the burnt body of Sibusiso Sithebe, which was used by his ex-girlfriend and her husband to claim over R500,000 in an insurance payout, was found on top of a bed not touched by flames.
The body, which was burnt beyond recognition, was covered in a blanket that was also not burnt.
Testifying at the Pretoria high court yesterday, Sgt Michael Mathabathe from the Rietgat police station said they were called by residents when the home of Sibusiso Mahlangu and Lerato Mahlangu in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, went up in flames.
However, the room that Sithebe was found in was not engulfed by fire. Sithebe and Lerato were lovers before she met Mahlangu. They have a daughter together.
Mathabathe said the bed only had dust [particles] and the ceiling had caved in.
“When Lerato went in [the bedroom] she identified the body as that of Sibusiso Vincent Mahlangu. She told us that she can identify him by his wedding ring. She also told us that she had left him the day before when she went to Mpumalanga,” he said.
According to Mathabathe, Lerato was in Mpumalanga when the house caught fire.
The neighbours called her and she rushed back to Soshanguve. The state alleges that Lerato had called Sithebe to her Soshanguve home on New Year’s Day in 2022. And while there, she and her husband murdered him.
Afterwards, the couple allegedly burnt his body and then Lerato passed it off as belonging to her husband and claimed half-a-million rand in an insurance payout.
The couple was arrested in April last year after police arrested Mahlangu while he was driving a suspected stolen car. It was when he was booked into custody that he allegedly told the police officers that he was registered as a dead person.
He and Lerato were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and three counts of fraud.
Meanwhile, Dr Rebecca Mashiya, a pathologist who also testified, said Sithebe was still alive when he was burnt. She also said he was intoxicated.
“The level of carbon monoxide saturation was 70%, meaning it was more than the fatal level, so it shows that the deceased was alive at the time of the fire,” she said.
The couple’s neighbour, Josphine Mashoene, also testified that when she got into the house the body was lying on an unburnt bed.
“The deceased’s body was lying with one hand on the stomach and the other hand stretched on the side.
“The accused [Lerato] then took the hand and felt if there was any pulse. She then closed the deceased’s eyes, shook the body, and while shouting ‘Sibusiso’, she chased us out.
“She cried loudly and came outside [the bedroom] and threw herself on the ground. We even gave her water with sugar because we felt sorry for her,” she said.
The trial was expected to continue today.