Woman murdered in Masvingo to be buried in Bulawayo

“Although we have never seen such cruelty, killing someone and keeping the body in a fridge, the Parikumuja family has come to us and we have reached an understanding.

“We are laying her to rest at West Park Cemetery at 10am tomorrow,” said Mr Mudhari whose sister was a youth officer at the Ministry of Youth, Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment. He said his family would not demand compensation and they would not fight with their in-laws because it would not bring their relative back to life.

“Regarding our son-in-law, we may be bitter but we are content to let the law take its course. We are confident that the courts will mete out an appropriate sentence,” said Mr Mudhari, a staunch Roman Catholic.

Parikumuja’s brother, Mr Gibson Parikumuja (42) who was seated with his in-laws, said he was shocked when he heard that his brother had killed his wife.

“I did not expect such a thing from him. He seemed to be in love with his wife and they looked like a happy couple. I do not know why he could have killed her, but I heard that my brother was so drunk and could hardly drive his car on the day the incident happened,” said Mr Parikumuja.

He said he was grateful to his in-laws for being very understanding over an issue they expected would effectively end their relationship.

“Initially, we were afraid to come for the funeral wake. We gathered the courage and they welcomed us and we are working together,” said Mr Parikumuja.

He said his brother was in police custody, although the family was yet to ascertain the police station where he was being held.

Police arrested Parikumuja after he called a friend and informed him that his wife had been fatally attacked and her body was still at his house.

The friend called the police and they went to search the house at the Zimbabwe National Water Authority premises.

After failing to locate the body, they stumbled on it in a freezer when they were looking for water to drink.

A hammer and an iron bar that were suspected to have been used in the killing were recovered.

Post-mortem results showed that the woman was killed because the body had a deep cut on top of the right eye, behind the right ear and there were signs that she bled profusely from the nose and the mouth.