News / National
Blood-stained clothing gave away murder suspect
01 Aug 2017 at 08:44hrs | Views
Scientific evidence shows that blood may have flown off the knife used to stab Mines ministry employee Betty Ranganai and on to the clothes of a man accused of murdering her, a Harare court heard yesterday.
A microscopic amount of blood was found by investigators on the clothes of Phillimon Chivangu, 22, of Whitecliff in Harare after the murder, Harare magistrate Josephine Sande was told.
Chivangu denies involvement in the July 24 murder, when he allegedly stabbed Ranganai after hatching a plan to steal property from the now deceased's residence.
Chivangu was remanded in custody to August 16 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
Prosecutor Linda Gadzikwa alleged that on July 24 around 10pm, Chivangu armed himself with a kitchen knife and went to Ranganai's residence anticipating that she would not be present at the house.
When Chivangu arrived at the house, he used his knife to make an opening in the veranda ceiling before gaining entry.
At that moment, Ranganai, who was sleeping alone in her bedroom, heard noises and woke up to investigate.
It was alleged that Ranganai then confronted Chivangu and a scuffle ensued between the two.
The court heard that Chivangu overpowered Ranganai and strangled her before stabbing the woman with a knife on her neck, killing her instantly.
Chivangu allegedly removed his brown pair of trousers, black belt, woollen hat, jacket and pair of socks which had been soaked in Ranganai's blood and ransacked the house before getting away with blankets, a gas cylinder, clothes and a Samsung tablet.
The following day, Ranganai's body was discovered lying in a pool blood. A report was filed with the police.
The court heard that on July 27, police received information pointing at Chivangu as the perpetrator of the offence, leading to his arrest.
Chivangu then led police officers to his residence and recovered Ranganai's stolen property before confessing how the offence was committed.
The recovered property was positively identified by Trish Tarisai Chiweshe, Ranganai's niece, whom she had been staying with until the time of her death.
A post mortem conducted on Ranganai's remains by Dr Roberto at Harare Central Hospital concluded the cause of death was hypovolemic shock and damaged left neck vessels, stabbing injury and strangulation.
A microscopic amount of blood was found by investigators on the clothes of Phillimon Chivangu, 22, of Whitecliff in Harare after the murder, Harare magistrate Josephine Sande was told.
Chivangu denies involvement in the July 24 murder, when he allegedly stabbed Ranganai after hatching a plan to steal property from the now deceased's residence.
Chivangu was remanded in custody to August 16 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.
Prosecutor Linda Gadzikwa alleged that on July 24 around 10pm, Chivangu armed himself with a kitchen knife and went to Ranganai's residence anticipating that she would not be present at the house.
When Chivangu arrived at the house, he used his knife to make an opening in the veranda ceiling before gaining entry.
At that moment, Ranganai, who was sleeping alone in her bedroom, heard noises and woke up to investigate.
It was alleged that Ranganai then confronted Chivangu and a scuffle ensued between the two.
The court heard that Chivangu overpowered Ranganai and strangled her before stabbing the woman with a knife on her neck, killing her instantly.
Chivangu allegedly removed his brown pair of trousers, black belt, woollen hat, jacket and pair of socks which had been soaked in Ranganai's blood and ransacked the house before getting away with blankets, a gas cylinder, clothes and a Samsung tablet.
The following day, Ranganai's body was discovered lying in a pool blood. A report was filed with the police.
The court heard that on July 27, police received information pointing at Chivangu as the perpetrator of the offence, leading to his arrest.
Chivangu then led police officers to his residence and recovered Ranganai's stolen property before confessing how the offence was committed.
The recovered property was positively identified by Trish Tarisai Chiweshe, Ranganai's niece, whom she had been staying with until the time of her death.
A post mortem conducted on Ranganai's remains by Dr Roberto at Harare Central Hospital concluded the cause of death was hypovolemic shock and damaged left neck vessels, stabbing injury and strangulation.
Source - dailynews
