Late Daughter “Sends” Text Messages To Grieving Mother

A Mutare man allegedly murdered his wife on infidelity suspicions and is now using her phone to frequently send text messages to his mother-in-law to make her believe that her daughter is alive and employed as a domestic worker in Chipinge.

Stephen Musimwa is being linked to the murder of his wife, Gladys Manyaire (27), whose body was found lying in a stream in Mwaamba Village, under Chief Zimunya in January this year.

The deceased’s mother, Mrs Winnie Manyaire told officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) that she was frequently receiving text messages from the deceased’s mobile number.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) acting spokesperson in Manicaland Province, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the development to The Manica Post. He said:

On December 29, 2023, the suspect communicated with the deceased through her mobile phone, requesting her to travel to Mutare on December 30, 2023, so that they could acquire a birth certificate for their child.

The suspect purports to be the deceased and working in Chipinge as a domestic worker.

Mrs Manyaire also stated that she is receiving text messages from the suspect’s line 0785086705, checking on his son.

The suspect also texted the deceased’s mother, telling her that Gladys was not answering his calls.

Mrs Manyaire further stated that the suspect arrived at her homestead on January 3, 2024, around 1 AM to leave a smartphone for his kid to play games.

After going through Mrs Manyaire’s text messages, it is suspected that the suspect is the one who is communicating with her using the deceased’s line.

There is consistency between the sequence and nature of texts from the deceased and suspect’s lines to Mrs Manyaire’s phone.

Asst Insp Chinyoka appealed to members of the public with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspect to contact their nearest police station.