A SICK HIV-positive woman from Mberengwa in the Midlands province bludgeoned her disabled son to death; apparently fearing no one would care for him if she were to die.
Neighbours said a desperate Siphiwe Mlauzi, 53, struck her bedridden 28-year-old son three times on the head with a pestle, instantly killing him before attempting to commit suicide.
Midlands police confirmed the incident.
The neighbours said Mlauzi, a widow, has been on anti-retroviral therapy over the last three years but started worrying for her son after her own health deteriorated.
“When Mlauzi who has been taking anti-retroviral drugs for the past three years recently fell ill, she then took the unfortunate decision and killed her son before she tried to commit suicide,” a relative told The Chronicle.
The son, said to have been disabled from birth, needed constant all-round care.
Relatives said Mlauzi told a neighbour she had killed him because she thought she was “dying” and he would not get assistance.
She then tried to commit suicide but the neighbour called for help from other villagers and managed to stop her.
“I think Mlauzi did not get the much needed counselling and we are equally to blame as the family for the tragic incident,” the neighbour said.
“After staying with her son for the past 28 years, we thought she had accepted what God had given her and never thought of this tragedy.”
A Midlands ZRP spokesman said villagers took Mlauzi to local police after the incident adding investigations were continuing.
“The accused Mlauzi is leading police with investigations. We appeal to members of the public to seek counselling and advice from elders in society when faced with problems,” Assistant Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said.