Dema family horror as woman, her 2 children found dead
Police say woman found hanging, children blindfolded with plastic papers
By Staff Reporter
In a shock incident, a 35-year-old Dema woman was found hanging by neck in her bedroom on Monday while her two infant children also lay dead in a suspected case of murder and suicide.
Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi Wednesday confirmed the death of Ruth Ruvarashe Chidume (35) and her children Tatenda Precious Blessings Gumbo, aged 4, Ira Makanakaishe Gumbo (2).
The bodies of the victims were found in the bedroom at Besa Village, Dema, outside Chitungwiza on 9 June 2025.
“Ruth Chidume was discovered hanging from a wooden beam with a nylon fabric tied around her neck, while the two infants were found blindfolded with plastic papers covering their heads and tied below the necks,” Nyathi said, adding that police were conducting “comprehensive” investigations around the incident.
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The incident is not the first in which a woman has killed her family members under mysterious circumstances.
In January this year, a 34-year-old Bulawayo woman, Happiness Chimbangu, brutally stabbed and killed her husband Edwin Chimbangu together with the couple’s two children Promise Chimbangu who was aged 4, and Prudence Chimbangu, who was 7 months old.
According to witnesses, Happiness had complained that the family was living in poverty.
