A 28-year-old woman of Chilabila village, in Petauke district in Eastern Province has been found dead in her house.
The body of Inely Phiri, was yesterday, December 25, around 13:00 hours, discovered in the house, lying on the bed while covered in a blanket.
Eastern Province Police Commissioner, Robertson Mweemba, has confirmed the incident indicating that foul play was suspected, while the husband to the deceased, Chiteshe Banda, 30, was on the run.
“Brief facts of the matter are that, on the fateful day at around 10:00 hrs, the deceased who was married to Chiteshe Banda, aged between 30 and 35 yrs, was seen in good health as she was going to plait her hair at a salon within the village,” he said.
However, at around 13:00 hours on the same day, Banda was seen by 45-year-old Milika Banda, mother to the deceased, carrying a sack leaving his house which she suspected fertilizer stolen from the now deceased, as the man was known to be in the habit of stealing from his wife.
“When the mother suspected theft, she immediately went to the house of her now deceased daughter, which is about 500 metres away from her house, to check if the fertilizer was not stolen,” Mr. Mweemba indicated.
To her surprise, she discovered that her daughter was lying lifeless in her bedroom, covered in blankets.
She quickly informed other people in the village and later reported the incident to the police.
Mr Mweemba said further inspection on the body revealed that the body was intact but there was foam coming out from the mouth.
He further noted that the blankets that the body was covered in had some faeces.
“A search for the husband for more details proved futile. The police are suspecting that he has run away,” Mr. Mweemba said.
He said the body was deposited into Kalindwalo General Hospital Mortuary, awaiting postmortem examination results.
