A corpse was found decapitated and the head was stolen from a cemetery in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
The shocking discovery was made on Thursday, May 23, after 9am by a patrolling security guard who went to investigate a bad smell in T-Section in Umlazi.
The deceased was reportedly a resident from Umlazi who passed away due to illness. He was 63-years-old.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said police in Umlazi have opened a case of violation of a corpse and damage to a grave.
“This follows an incident in which a grave was vandalised and a corpse was violated at a cemetery at T-Section in Umlazi on Thursday, May 23, 2024,” Netshiunda said.
“A cemetery security guard was doing his rounds when he reportedly noticed a grave that was dug open,” he said.
“Police were summoned and upon arrival, police found that the corpse in that grave was missing the head.”
He said investigations were ongoing and the suspects were unknown at this stage.
In a similar incident, in February 2023, a corpse was stolen from a grave site in Limpopo.
IOL reported that one of the family members had reportedly gone to the cemetery to clean the grave site in preparation for the upcoming gathering of the unveiling of the tombstone, when she discovered that the grave had been dug open and the corpse had been stolen.
IOL News