After days of an intolerable smell emanating from Gloria Mashila’s house, neighbours in Illovo, a suburb south of Durban, finally smashed down her front door on Tuesday morning. What they saw inside left them speechless.
According to the allegations, Mashila, 71, had reportedly been lifeless for around two months inside the KwaZulu-Natal property, with her body showing signs of severe decay. Relatives first voiced concern about the missing retiree around eight weeks ago, and while they conducted a comprehensive search at the time, they came up empty.
On Tuesday afternoon, forensic experts from the South African Police Service arrived at the Illovo residence to start the scene investigation. “We can confirm a female body was recovered and our teams are conducting a formal investigation,” a spokeswoman from the South African Police Service (SAPS) informed reporters outside the sealed property. The spokesperson added that a post-mortem study would determine the exact cause of death.
People of the close-knit Illovo neighbourhood believe that Mashila was a reclusive loner. Residents’ unease had been building for weeks due to the worsening smell, but despite several efforts to reach out to the city, no one was able to provide urgent aid, leaving the street in a fume long before police arrived.
The sight of Mashila’s little grandson sitting serenely next to her decaying body, seemingly eating a breakfast dish, as if nothing out of the ordinary were there, was enough to paralyse everyone who entered the home. As forensic investigators worked nearby, the child’s calm demeanour and lack of anxiety were seen by neighbours. The youngster had his little hands wrapped around a spoon.
Neither the length of time the grandson had been alone with the corpse nor the knowledge of any other adult relative of the circumstances inside the home had been substantiated by investigators. Later on Tuesday, child welfare officials showed up to place the youngster in protective custody, but Illovo still can’t shake the unanswered concerns of who knew Gloria Mashila was gone and why no one checked sooner.