South African Mother Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For K!lling Her 14-Year-Old Daughter For Insurance Payout

The Ntuzuma Regional Court in South Africa has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to a 43-year-old woman named Ncamisile Evarista Hlophe for the murder of her 14-year-old daughter, Luvuyo Tafadzwe Bera.

The incident occurred in ‘D’ Section, located in KwaMashu, Durban, during July 2024.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), in a statement released on Friday, November 14, 2025, stated that the court determined the crime had been motivated by the mother’s desire to claim payouts from multiple life insurance policies that had been taken out on the child.

According to the NPA, the woman had initially informed the police that her daughter went to bed the night before complaining of a headache and after taking medication.

“On the morning following the d3ath, the accused told police that the deceased (her daughter) had suffered from a headache and had taken medication before going to bed the previous night,” the statement read.

The accused claimed she found the deceased when she attempted to wake her for school. The deceased was discovered lying in a pool of blood with an injury to the back of her head.

The accused informed the police that the deceased had injured herself after falling from the bed. Consequently, an inquest docket was opened.

During the post-mortem examination, the pathologist concluded that the injuries sustained by the deceased were inconsistent with the version of events provided by the accused.

Police further interviewed neighbours of the accused, who reported that prior to the incident they had heard the deceased pleading with the accused not to k!ll her.

Subsequent investigations uncovered that the accused had taken out several life insurance policies on the deceased.

In the period leading up to the incident, the accused had contacted the consultants handling the policies to confirm the policy amounts and the procedure for making a claim. The accused was arrested shortly thereafter.

In court, the accused chose to plead guilty in terms of Section 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1997, however the court did not accept her plea in its entirety and instead entered a plea of not guilty under Section 113.

The accused subsequently made admissions under Section 220 in addition to her guilty plea, during which she admitted to k!lling the deceased in order to obtain the insurance money. On the strength of these admissions, the court convicted the accused as charged.

In aggravation of sentence, Prosecutor Sbongiseni Goodenough Mtetwa presented the testimony of the deceased’s grief-stricken father.

He informed the court that the deceased was his only child and that he had single-handedly covered all her expenses, including school fees and other costs.

The accused was sentenced accordingly and was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

“The NPA welcomes the conviction and sentence. We remain steadfast in our commitment to uphold the rule of law and pursue justice without fear or favour. We will safeguard the rights and dignity of all members of society, especially children and other vulnerable groups,” the statement added.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli