A 43-year-old South African woman, Ncamisile Evarista Hlophe, has been handed a life sentence by the Ntuzuma Regional Court after being found guilty of murdering her 14-year-old daughter, Luvuyo Tafadzwe Bera, in a bid to claim insurance benefits.
The tragic incident, which occurred in July 2024 in KwaMashu’s ‘D’ Section in Durban, was initially reported by Hlophe as an accident. She told police her daughter had gone to bed with a headache after taking medication and was later found dead in a pool of blood the following morning allegedly from a fall off the bed.
However, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), in a statement released on Friday, November 14, 2025, said a post-mortem examination quickly disproved her version of events. Forensic experts confirmed that the injuries sustained were inconsistent with a fall.
Investigators later uncovered chilling details: neighbours reported hearing the girl begging her mother not to kill her before the incident, and further findings revealed that Hlophe had taken out several life insurance policies on her daughter. Shortly before the killing, she contacted policy consultants to confirm payout amounts and procedures.
Hlophe initially attempted to plead guilty under Section 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, but the court rejected her partial admission and replaced it with a not-guilty plea under Section 113. She later made formal admissions under Section 220, confessing that she murdered her daughter to cash out the insurance policies as an evidence to secured her conviction.
During sentencing, Prosecutor Sbongiseni Goodenough Mtetwa presented emotional testimony from the victim’s father, who described Luvuyo as his only child and detailed the financial and emotional responsibilities he had carried.
In addition to the life sentence, the court declared Hlophe unfit to possess a firearm.
The NPA praised the court’s decision, reiterating its commitment to protecting vulnerable groups—especially children—and ensuring justice is pursued without fear or favour.