Woman accused of murdering family for insurance pleads not guilty

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A 49-year-old woman accused of murdering one of her family members has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.

Agnes Setshwantsho has deposed an affidavit which was read out by her legal representative at the Molopo Magistrate’s Court in Mahikeng.

She is facing a charge of murder, two counts of fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

She was arrested last week Thursday for allegedly killing one of her family members to cash out life insurance policies that she reportedly obtained fraudulently.

Woman accused of family murder seeks bail

The court gallery was filled to the rafters and Setshwantsho sought to plead her innocence through an affidavit read by her legal representative.

Attorney Mahlahla Mahlangu says, “She believes she has done nothing wrong. I do not want to venture into the facts of the case, but she believes she has done nothing wrong. She has an explanation. She gave the explanation to the investigating officer on her arrest. She gave a brief statement about why she says she is not guilty and she is going to maintain that status that she is not guilty of charges preferred against her.”

But the state says it has a watertight case against the accused.

NPA Spokesperson Henry Mamothame says, “On the issue of pre-meditated murder, the SAPS had to exhume the body of the deceased to really establish the course of death. Preliminary results have indicated that there was foul play. But, we are at the stage waiting for the final report to conclusively say that report is what we can use in a court of law. Pending the outcome of the investigations, there is a possibility that we might add more charges against the accused but that will only be determined by what the investigations are unearthing.”

Meanwhile, the accused’s in-laws are not happy with the court proceedings. Brother-in-law Itireleng Setshwantsho says, “We thought the case would proceed so that we can see progress. And as a family, we are surprised to hear other things for the first time. So as the family we are hurting because we did not expect the case will be postponed because we want progress so that we can have closure.”

The bail application has been postponed to the 6 of December, where the investigating officer will be expected to take the stand.