Mother and two daughters 'murdered by IT expert father before he fled to South Africa' died of blunt force trauma, post mortem finds

Published: 17:20, 13 July 2026 | Updated: 17:29, 13 July 2026 A mother and her two children whose bodies were discovered at their Bedfordshire home last week died as a result of blunt force trauma, a forensic post-mortem examination has found. Police discovered Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, last Monday after concerns were raised that they had not been seen for several days. A murder investigation was launched and three days later the Crown Prosecution Service authorised three charges of murder against Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, also known as Mark.  Tshuma, who was married to Nothabo, was arrested the same day by authorities in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 45-year-old remains remanded in custody after appearing at Johannesburg Magistrates' Court today (Monday). The court heard the fugitive was cornered by elite police at a house in a smart suburb of the city and was found to be in possession of an illegally-bought handgun and two live bullets. Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, of the South African police force, said after the hearing: 'We are now told that upon arrival in South Africa he visited one of the townships where a firearm was sold to him along with bullets. 'We have a separate investigation into who those suspects are who sold him an unlicensed firearm and a number of lines of inquiry are being followed on that. Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, remains remanded in custody after appearing at Johannesburg Magistrates' Court today 'I can also confirm that we have received a provisional extradition request from Interpol in Manchester through to Interpol in Pretoria to return him to the UK. 'This would include the warrant of arrest issued by UK authorities and we need to receive the full case file and supporting evidence for the extradition.' Detective Inspector Lee Martin, senior investigating officer, said: 'This case has attracted a huge amount of media coverage and we aware of international reports circulating which contain some speculation about this case. 'With three murder charges authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, proceedings around this case remain active and we are not able to provide any further detail at this stage.  'We continue to work with the CPS and international partners as the case progresses.' Tshuma, who is of Zimbabwean heritage, sparked a five-day manhunt before he was caught.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.