Missing teacher found dead in her home

Relatives of a Silverglen teacher, who was tragically killed in her home earlier this month, are grappling with the painful recurrence of violence within their family.

In 2019, 82-year-old Bhim Sukununun, was killed in his home after intruders broke in, beat and bound him and killed him.

It was a case of history repeating itself earlier this month when his daughter, Dr Priya Bhim, 50, was found dead in the same home after being reported missing for a few days.

Bhim’s nephew, Shravan Bhim, expressed the family's devastation.

“We were never prepared for something like this. Priya's absence initially went unnoticed but when she failed to report for her duties at Seaview Primary after a few days, we began to suspect something was amiss. This was after we noticed that her WhatsApp profile picture had been removed from her phone,” said Mr Bhim.

The family opened a missing persons case at the Bayview police station the next day. A police task team was immediately assigned to investigate the matter.

Their efforts led them to a significant breakthrough when a member of the public spotted a Nissan Almera with a personalised number plate that belonged to the missing teacher.

“This ultimately led to the arrest of a suspect who was driving the vehicle, and it was discovered that the car contained items stolen from Priya's home. We are even more unsettled as we made a surprising discovery that some of my late grandfather’s clothes were also found in the vehicle,” said Mr Bhim.

Police spokesman Lt-Col Nqobile Gwala said the 35 year-old suspect from Mariannhill was arrested and remanded in custody.