The quiet village of Morutji in Bolobedu, Limpopo, has been shaken to its core by a crime so brutal that even seasoned police officers struggled to process what they saw. What began as a missing-person case has turned into one of the most horrifying discoveries the community has ever faced.
On Tuesday, 11 November, police unearthed the body of 42-year-old mechanic Isaya Maphalle from a shallow grave in his own yard. He had been missing since 31 October. What they found stunned everyone: his remains were wrapped in a maize-meal sack, buried in haste, and mutilated beyond recognition. The upper body was separated from the head, and the lower half of his body was missing.
Residents stood in disbelief as officers worked through thick soil and broken ground. The yard, once filled with the sound of tools and car engines, had become the site of a grim exhumation.
In the middle of it all stood his sister, Maggie, fighting back tears as she confirmed the cruel reality.
“We are heartbroken,” she said quietly. “The police say the case is serious because he was brutally murdered.”
Family members described Maphalle as a peaceful, hardworking man who spent his days fixing cars and helping neighbours. His relatives say he rarely argued with anyone and was known for his patience and generosity.
“It doesn’t make sense,” another family member said. “He was a kind and loving man who always helped everyone in the community.”
That confusion was echoed across Morutji Village. Residents gathered in clusters, shaking their heads in disbelief as details of the murder spread. Many said they had never seen anything like this in their community.
It’s the first time we’ve witnessed something like this,” said neighbour Oupa Sebola. “We knew the victim very well. He was a good man.”
Despite their grief, the family cannot proceed with a proper burial. With the body incomplete, they are unable to fulfil cultural and spiritual rites, leaving them in painful limbo. For many villagers, the missing body parts have intensified fears about the motives behind the killing.
As forensic pathologists completed their work, attention turned to the prime suspect: Priscilla, Maphalle’s girlfriend and the mother of his children. According to police, she disappeared shortly after he went missing — and she did not leave alone. She allegedly fled with the couple’s young children, vanishing without a trace.
Police sources confirmed that Priscilla is the main suspect, and investigators are now hunting for her. Officers believe she may hold the answers to what happened in the days leading up to Maphalle’s death, and—perhaps most importantly—why.
Police officers spent hours searching the property for clues, hoping to retrace the events that ended with Maphalle’s murder. They believe the body was buried quickly, sometime shortly after he disappeared. The use of a maize-meal sack suggests panic and desperation rather than planning.
But the deliberate removal of the lower body and the beheading point to something far more calculated — and far more sinister.
By the afternoon, crime-scene tape surrounded the home, and patrol vehicles remained stationed in the area as crowds slowly dispersed. Shock lingered long after the police left.
At the provincial level, officials confirmed they were aware of the case and would release a detailed update soon. For now, the investigation continues quietly, with detectives piecing together witness statements and searching for the missing girlfriend and her children.
As nightfall came over Morutji, families locked their doors early. Elderly residents spoke in hushed tones, some worried that the suspect could still be nearby. Others worried about the children, fearing what they may have witnessed or endured.
The Maphalle family, meanwhile, is sinking deeper into grief. With every passing hour, they face the unbearable reality that their brother will never come home, and the even more painful knowledge that the person they trusted to love him may be responsible for his death.
Calls for justice are growing louder. Community members want answers. They want accountability. And they want closure for a family now torn apart by violence.
Yet the one person who can explain the motive — the one person who knows what happened inside that house — is still on the run.
Until she is found, the village of Morutji remains haunted by a single, devastating question:
What drove a mother to flee with her children after allegedly cutting their father into pieces?
