Durban — The Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court found that a man charged with the murder of his girlfriend, who died after he bashed her head into a wall several times, intended to kill the woman.
On Monday, Magistrate Mohamed Motala found Mxolisi Mvula, 30, guilty of the 2022 murder of Ntombikayise Phindile Mkhize.
“The number of times the accused struck the deceased, the force he used, the intensity of the assault with the focus being on the head and face, and the cranial injuries sustained by the deceased all point to no other conclusion than that the accused had the intention to kill her,” said Motala.
During the trial the court heard that on December 2, 2022, 21-year-old Mkhize had been at her home, an unfinished house, with her friend when Mvula arrived and asked to talk to Mkhize.
Mkhize was reluctant to leave the room with Mvula but he pulled her by the arm and once they were in the other room Mkhize’s friend heard her cry out.
When the friend, Sthembile Mkhize, walked into the other room she found Mvula with his hand on Mkhize’s neck. Sthembile saw him bang Mkhize’s head five to seven times against the wall before she fell to the ground, and when she was down he stomped on her head and face with his foot multiple times before fleeing.
Sthembile told the court that a white foamy substance was coming out of her friend’s mouth, and she ran to tell Mkhize’s mother.
Mkhize was pronounced dead at the scene.
Motala, in convicting Mvula, said evidence led in court by a pathologist confirmed that external and internal injuries on Mkhize were consistent with her head being repeatedly hit.
“The pathologist said that the deceased bled from both eyes as a result of forceful pressure to the neck causing blood vessels in the eyes to burst. The pathologist said it was impossible that the deceased’s injuries were caused by the deceased hitting her head once,” said Motala.
Mvula pleaded not guilty. In his defence he said he and Mkhize had got into an argument that became physical, he had pulled her arm roughly and she had hit her head on the wall.
WhatsApp your views on this story to 071 485 7995.
Daily News