By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Protea Magistrates Court has postponed the case against 26-year-old Flavio Hlabangwane to 30 November 2021.
The murder case against a 26-year-old Soweto man linked to body parts discovered in his fridge has been postponed to 30 November.
Flavio Hlabangwane was back at the Protea Magistrates Court on Monday morning, where the court heard that he attempted to commit suicide before his second appearance.
This is the second time that Hlabangwane has tried take his life since his arrest on 13 November.
During the court proceedings, the accused abandoned his bail application, while his legal counsel lodged an application for him could undergo a mental assessment.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the state would not oppose the application.
“We believed that [the application] is in the interest of justice for the accused to undergo this mental assessment,” she said.
Mjonondwane also indicated that a report would be compiled on whether Hlabangwane is fit to stand trial, once the assessment is complete.
The court, meanwhile, ordered that the he be placed in the hospital section at the Johannesburg Prison.
He was arrested following the discovery of body parts stashed inside his refrigerator in Protea Glen, Soweto.
His girlfriend made the gruesome discovery after Hlabangwane left the property to go to the shops to buy food, and she called for help from neighbours.
Police spokesperson Brigedier Brenda Muridili told Fullview that the torso and head has not been found and that police are awaiting a forensic report on the limbs for identification.
“So far there is no update on that side of investigation as the accused is also still being profiled. The case has been taken over by provincial occult-related crimes investigators but the motive for the killing is still under investigation,”she said.
People in his neighbourhood described him as a peace-loving bookworm who didn’t have friends and was always in the company of his mother, Grace Hlabangwane
He was married to his cousin, Tshepang Tsipe, and it is suspected that the human remains in his home were hers.
In 2013, he went to the University of the Witwatersrand. He studied there for five years and received an honor’s degree in Actuarial Science. He was employed as Intermediate Actuarial Specialist at the Old Mutual Life Assurance Company.