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Midlands Correspondent
A 14-year-old boy from Gweru recently went berserk and brutally murdered a 41-year-old woman employed at their house as a domestic worker following a misunderstanding over a memory card. The boy later tried to commit suicide. Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the incident which occurred on Sunday night at around 11pm when the boy (name withheld) from Mkoba Village 20, allegedly fatally struck Nyarai Mudonzwa with a hoe on the head.

After committing the crime, the boy dragged the body into a toilet and locked himself in the house for two days before attempting to commit suicide by drinking Domestos cleaning liquid when the neighbours alerted the police.

“I can confirm that we are investigating a murder case where a 14-year-old boy from Mkoba Village 20 struck their house maid with a hoe on the head following a misunderstanding over a memory card. The boy attempted to commit suicide in a bid to evade arrest when neighbours called the police.

“The suspect, however, is in police custody and admitted at Gweru Provincial Hospital where he is receiving treatment,” he said. According to neighbours, the boy was given $10 by the maid to go and recharge electricity but instead converted the money to personal use.

The maid is said to have confronted the boy and he attacked her with a hoe. “After hitting her, the boy locked himself and the body in the house. I became suspicious when I did not see anybody at the house after hearing the maid screaming the previous night.

“I went to the house together with other neighbours and knocked at the house but nobody answered the door despite hearing movements inside the house. “We then alerted the police. When the boy realised that the matter had been reported to the police, he attempted to commit suicide,” said a neighbour who refused to give his name.