Police confirm Muizenberg daughter lived with mother’s skeletal remains for months

In a scene reminiscent of a horror film, the skeleton of a 90-year-old woman was discovered in a Muizenberg home, sparking shock and disbelief among residents.

The skeletal remains of the woman were found in a Scarboro Road home, which she shared with her daughter.

For months, neighbours had been concerned about the woman's unexplained absence, having not seen her for some time. Despite the lack of any announcements regarding a death or funeral, they assumed all was well, believing both the woman and her daughter were simply staying indoors.

However, growing suspicions arose when they noticed the lights remained off and the bins were left untouched.

Each time they enquired, the daughter insisted her mother was sleeping. Even during a police visit, she reassured officers that everything was fine, leaving the community unaware of the tragic reality that lay hidden behind closed doors.

On the third visit, after a concerned neighbour contacted a friend of the elderly woman, the police made the discovery. Her decomposed body was found on her knees in front of her bed, with her walker positioned nearby, suggesting she may have collapsed while trying to reach it.

Neighbours told the Cape Argus that while they occasionally noticed an unpleasant smell, they never suspected anything was amiss. 

“Everyone knows them, but our community isn’t the type to be nosy. We look out for each other,” one neighbour said.

 Another said she had noticed more flies around the house, but assumed it was due to living near the ocean.

“It was shocking when we heard what happened,” another resident said. “But we knew it couldn’t have been deliberate; she loved her mother.”

She said even after the mother had died, the daughter, convinced that she was alive, washed her and brought her coffee, as if she was simply tired.

The woman had been living with her daughter, a woman in her 50s diagnosed with schizophrenia, who had reportedly been off her medication for several years due to financial difficulties.

Since the incident, the daughter has resumed her treatment and is being supported by her neighbours and the community. 

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” a resident said.

“You can’t blame her for what happened, she didn’t know what to do and needed help. It’s sad she didn’t get that support at the time."

The elderly woman has since been cremated.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said the investigation is ongoing.

“The remains were identified, but the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation. There are no new developments at this stage,” Sergeant Twigg said.

With October being Mental Health Awareness Month, Dr Melané van Zyl, a member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP), tried to explain the bizarre behaviour of the daughter.

She said if a person suffering from severe mental illnesses stops their medication, they can easily lose track of reality.

“This is due to two reasons. The first one being that the symptoms of the original illness can come back. In other words, if they're on an anti-psychotic and it is stopped, then they can become psychotic, like hearing or seeing things that are not there and they're not orientated to time and place.

“The other reason is that these medications are often quite potent and work on the central nervous system. So if it is stopped, the patient can become confused and delirious. They can have withdrawal symptoms and they might even have a convulsion. So all these factors can contribute that a person can lose track of reality.”

Dr Van Zyl added that the risk of relapse when psychiatric medication is stopped depends on the diagnosis of the patient, as well as the number of previous episodes they've had, as well as the severity of the illness.

“The more severe the mental illness, the higher the risk of relapse. In other words, if the diagnosis is schizophrenia, we know that at least or around 80% of these patients will relapse within a year. So this means that their symptoms will return.”

She further explained that it is very common for people with severe mental illness to relapse if their medication is stopped.

“This is very common. It is very common for patients to lose a sense of reality and become disoriented to place and person, and time, as well as experience hallucinations and delusions when the medication is stopped.”

She said signs that can be looked out for include strange behaviours.

“The person might wander in the street in the night. Sometimes they might not be fully clothed or appropriately clothed. They might be suspicious and paranoid. They might be talking to themselves.

“Sometimes they will also try to self-medicate so they could use alcohol or drugs. They can also become irritable and even aggressive. It will usually be apparent that they are experiencing a different reality of what is really occurring.

“So it will look like the person is hearing voices, talking to people that are not there, or seeing things that are not there.”

She said that statistically, in a family of four, one out of four family members will develop a mental illness in their lifetime.

“So this is extremely common. Stigma can be reduced by awareness campaigns such as World Mental Health Month, which is in October."