Suspected wife killer on the run
By Victor Maphosa
Police in Mashonaland East Province are investigating a murder case in which a 26-year-old man reportedly assaulted his wife (23) to death during a misunderstanding.
Simbarashe Zishiri and the now deceased Trish Machova were employed as farm workers at Uitzicht Farm in Chivhu just over a month ago.
Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident in a statement.
“It is reported that on October 19 in the afternoon, Simbarashe, who was in the company of his now deceased wife, Trish, and the farm owner’s 15-year-old niece went to water the garden using water from a nearby stream,” he said.
“While at the stream, a cow came to drink water and the 15-year-old niece threw a stone to chase it away while Simbarashe’s wife watched.”
It is alleged that Simbarashe felt that his wife was supposed to be the one to chase the cow away since she was older than the farm owner’s 15-year-old niece.
Reports are that Simbarashe confronted his wife, asking her why she did not chase the cow away.
He dragged her to a nearby bush and assaulted her.
“Some moments later, Simbarashe called the girl to come where he was, but the girl rushed home and informed the farm owner and together they rushed to the scene and they found Trish lying on the ground with a swollen cheek, while struggling to breathe,” Insp Mwanza said.
He said Simbarashe and the farm owner ferried Trish to the Harare-Masvingo Highway in an ox-drawn cart and they hired a vehicle to take her to Chivhu General Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Upon realising that his wife was dead, Simbarashe is believed to have sneaked out of the female ward and vanished.
On October 20, the farm owner reported the matter to the police and they launched a manhunt for Simbarashe.
Meanwhile, police in Marondera are investigating a case where an unknown person allegedly terminated her pregnancy.
“Some children were playing near Cold Storage Commission premises in Marondera and discovered a foetus in a ditch covered with a blanket,” he said. The Herald
