Tshegofatso Pule: 'It was horrible,' says former morgue worker who discovered body

A community member who saw the body of Tshegofatso Pule described it as “gruesome” and something that hurt him deeply as a father.

Roodepoort resident Tshepo Bodibe said he was informed by a community member that a body of a pregnant woman hanging from a tree had been found in the area.

Despite police saying the body was found on June 8, Bodibe said the body was found on Friday, June 5.

Pule was eight months pregnant and was expecting a daughter.

“It was a Friday when we found the body. On closer inspection we saw that the lady was pregnant and had blood stains on her clothes.”

He said police had already been called to the scene when he arrived.

“It was a horrible scene, what we found there I’ve never seen in my life. Even in my movies I’ve never seen a pregnant lady murdered or hanging from a tree.”

He said the open veld in Durban Deep where the body was found was surrounded by a roadway which taxis used on a daily basis.

“At first we couldn’t understand the scene, but I had a feeling the person who did this was a guy. As a guy, this thing has struck me very bad because I am a father and have a daughter.

“If something like this had to happen to my daughter, I would be devastated,” he said.

He said the community did not recognise her, so they took photographs which they shared on Facebook, so that anyone who knew her could come forward.

“What we did was, we took a couple of pictures, but from the back and posted it on Facebook, because we didn’t know her and we thought it was on us [to help identify her],” Bodibe told TimesLIVE outside the Roodepoort magistrate's court on Wednesday morning, where a suspect is expected to make a first appearance.

He said after his post, a family member thanked him that they were able to find Pule.

Police said earlier on Wednesday morning that a 31-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the murder. Further arrests are expected.

Police spokesperson Col Noxolo Kweza said the man had been arrested while travelling back to Gauteng from Mpumalanga.

The 28-year-old beauty product representative's funeral was held at her family home in Soweto on Thursday last week.

Bodibe, who worked in a morgue for a few years, said he had since recovered from the ordeal and was hoping that justice would prevail.

“We are supporting the family and we just want justice for Tshegofatso and hope that this guy doesn’t get bail.”