SHARON NEVES MURDER: BLOOD SPATTER MATCHES ZWELI’S DNA – REPORT

MBABANE – A forensic report has revealed that Zwelibanzi Simelane’s blood was found on a number of items after his lover, Sharon Neves, was murdered in their rented flat.

Simelane (36) and Neves resided at Nkhanini in Nhlangano. Neves was a Shiselweni Region Coordinator for the National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS. She died on February 8, 2022. Her body was found in a pool of blood, covered in a kanga, in the passage of their flat, where there two of them resided. Neves was 43 years old when she was murdered. A Scenes of Crime officer told the court during Simelane’s trial that there was blood spatter on the walls, television and other areas in the living room.

Last Friday, Lieutenant Colonel Matuku Samuel Mashegoana, who is based in the Biology Section of the Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria, presented the DNA results of the blood samples taken from the accused and deceased’s rented flat.The forensic report presented by the lieutenant colonel showed the blood on the television screen, spade, rake and semen and blood on a grey-coloured throw matched Simelane’s DNA. No test results were obtained from a wooden axe handle, which forms part of the exhibits in Simelane’s murder trial. The report has been filed in court.

Sergeant Nhlanhla Hlatshwako, who is based at Nhlangano Police Station under General Duty and was the Shift Officer, informed the court that Simelane arrived at the police station around 12:20am on the day of the incident to lodge a complaint. The sergeant said Simelane’s complaint was that when he arrived at their house, he discovered that Neves had died and had been assaulted by thugs.

Disarray

Hlatshwako said he and other officers were instructed to proceed to Nkhanini. He said Simelane led them and when they arrived at the flat, they found the lounge in disarray. He told the court that he saw Neves lying in the passage, covered in a red kanga up to her neck. During cross-examination by Simelane’s lawyer, Mlindi Mthethwa of Ben J. Simelane and Associates, he did not observe any injuries on Simelane’s hands despite that he placed them on the counter at the police station when he came to report the matter. Sergeant Nkosinathi Magolide Thusi, who is the Scenes of Crime-in-charge officer based at the Shiselweni Regional Police Headquarters, said he looked around the yard and concluded that the killer did not enter through the fence and there was no sign that somebody had recently walked on the tall grass in the premises.

The sergeant said from experience, he suspected Simelane to be involved in the matter and requested the other police officers to remove him from the scene. The sergeant informed the court that there were bloodstains on the steps leading to the entrance of the flat. Sergeant Thusi also submitted that there was a pool of blood next to a dustbin inside the house and next to a metallic refrigerator. The flat, according to the sergeant, was an open-plan kitchen. He said the items in the living room indicated a struggle. Neves’s body lay in the passage near the two bedrooms and bathroom, covered in a kanga. He said he felt her pulse and there was none.

Sergeant Thusi told the court that he took photographs of the scene and the body, which was in a pool of blood. He said on the left cheek there were marks, indicating that she had been bitten and the marks on the neck indicated strangulation. He submitted that the body was full of injuries and blood clots. “There was blood splatter on the TV and the wall. The curtain rail was broken from the glass door and it was on the floor, with blood splatter. On the sofas and floor, there were broken picture frames.

Sofa

“There was a grey throw next to the sofa, with blood splatter and on the floor in front of it. The deep freezer behind a sofa also had bloodstains,” said Sergeant Thusi.He said he collected swabs for DNA testing. On the kitchen counter, according to the sergeant, two unwashed plates showed that two people had a meal earlier on. The sergeant went on to state that there were three wet face clothes with bloodstains, two were hung on the laundry sink outside the house and another face cloth.  Two were hung on the edge of the sink and another was hung on a bucket.At least more than 10 witnesses have been led so far and they include Nhlangano Magistrate Thulani Dlamini, Neves neighbour at Nkhanini, where she was found dead in her flat, and the accused’s friend, Tracy Simelane.

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