The trial of a man who killed his cousin, dismembered her and put her body parts in his deep freezer resumed at the Johannesburg High Court sitting at the Palmridge Magistrate court on Wednesday. 

Flavio Hlabangwane (28) pleaded guilty to killing Tshepang Pitse who he was also in a romantic relationship with. He faces charges of murder, defeating, and obstructing justice and violation of a corpse. 

GRUESOME DISCOVERY 

Hlabangwane was arrested in November2021 after his girlfriend found Tshepang's body parts in the accused deep freezer at his residence in Protea Glen, Soweto. Hlabangwane was not in the house at the time and his girlfriend called the police. Pitse was buried in2022 with her torso missing and with the help of DNA analysis it was discovered that the remains belonged to Pitse. 

ADMITTING TO THE MURDER

Hlabangwane (28) told the court that on the day of the murder, he took Pitse's bank card to buy food as he sometimes did. He claimed she didn't have a problem with that. He added that when he returned on that day, she asked him why he used the card without her permission. We then had an argument which quickly escalated."During the argument, I pushed her, and she hit the back of her head on the corner of the stove. She then fell. She stood up, bleeding and advanced towards me. I managed to grab a knife. I stabbed her in the neck, and she died in seconds," he told the court. Hlangwane said after killing Pitse, he dragged her body to the shower where he cleaned it to conceal evidence. He later went to buy drugs, took them and started dismembering it with a butcher knife.

STATE REJECTS GUILTY PLEA 

 State prosecutor Reitumetsi Senawana rejected Hlabangwane's guilty plea. She proposed that the court apply Section51 Sub-section 1 of the Criminal procedure act. This means that the state proposes a life sentence for premeditated murder instead of Section 51Sun-section 2 which prescribes a 15-year sentence. The prosecutor, Senior State Advocate Johan Badenhorst accepted the plea on two of the charges, except for the murder charge. Advocate Badenhorst cited that it was prudent for the state to tender evidence to expand on the allegations levelled against the accused. He further added that it was important for the court to hear evidence about the nature of relationship the accused had with Pitse, so it can assess and evaluate the evidence in its entirety. 

The court heard evidence from the first state witness who confirmed that she was Pitse's friend. The woman told the court that Pitse had told her that Hlabangwane had threatened to kill her. The trial continues on Thursday 26 January 2023.