Man eats dead wife, dies choking

Newcastle - Two KwaZulu-Natal girls have been left traumatised after seeing their father eat the flesh off their dead mother\'s face on Friday morning, said police.

Captain Tienkie van Vuuren said police were called to Thembalethu Village near Mkuze in the Tugela Ferry area about 03:00 on Friday after a 13-year-old girl ran to her neighbours for help.

She said when they arrived at the house they had to force their way in the house to rescue the other girl, aged seven, who had been stabbed in the head by the father.

"Inside, police found a naked Jabulani Siphethu sitting on top of his common-law wife\'s body, eating the flesh from her face," said Van Vuuren.

"Only the forehead was still intact. The bone was visible where the rest of the face used to be".

Siphethu was aggressive during the arrest and threatened police with the knife he was holding. He was eventually caught and taken outside.

"There, he suddenly choked and became unconscious and died. The seven-year-old girl was taken away by ambulance together with her older sister who had escaped unharmed," said Van Vuuren.

A post-mortem will on done on Siphethu and his common-law wife.