Student killed on NMU campus

GEORGE NEWS - Chaos erupted at the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) George campus after a 20-year-old female student was stabbed to death in her bedroom by a fellow student on Tuesday 6 June.

The suspect (22) is believed to be her boyfriend.

Although police and the university have not officially released the victim's name, friends and fellow students have identified her online.

Out of respect for her family, George Herald is also withholding her name until her parents have identified her body.

The victim, originally from Kokstad, was a second-year student at the faculty of business and a striker for the Madibaz ladies soccer team. She sustained multiple stab wounds to her upper body.

According to a post that has been circulating on social media, a fellow student and eyewitness who stayed in the same block as the 20-year-old, decided to investigate after she heard strange noises, like people fighting and shouting, coming from the student's room.

The door of the room was however locked and the master key had to be used to open it. When the door opened, the witness allegedly saw the suspect stabbing her.

It is unclear if the suspect fled the scene at this stage. The eyewitness apparently attempted to stop the bleeding from a wound in the young woman's neck, when she saw more wounds all over her upper body.

The victim stayed on the top floor of Block A at the NMU residences.

Help arrives

In the meantime emergency services were alerted. Frontier Medix arrived on the scene and immediately attempted to resuscitate the victim, but she could not be saved.

Police arrived in the nick of time as angry fellow students who heard what had happened, gathered outside the residence. The situation became volatile and students were threatening the suspect's life with bricks and sticks in hand.

Southern Cape police spokesperson Sgt Chris Spies said when police arrived on the scene, the victim was already in an ambulance. She had multiple stab wounds and had been declared dead by paramedics.

The suspect was arrested and had to be escorted from the grounds by police using bulletproof shields while dispersing the rowdy crowd with stun grenades.

"It is believed that the victim was attacked inside her bedroom on campus," said Spies.

The suspect will appear in the George Magistrate's court today (8 June) on a charge of murder.

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Spies added that crime scene experts combed the scene for clues. The motive for the killing is yet to be established.

NMU statement

In a statement, NMU George campus spokesperson Milisa Piko, said counselling and other psychosocial support mechanisms, including pastoral services, have been arranged for students and staff affected by the tragedy.

"The university, in particular the George Campus, extends its deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased student.

The university, specifically the George Campus, has been unimaginably shaken by this incident, and will do whatever it can to cooperate with the relevant law enforcement agency in the quest for justice," she said.