A 32-year-old mother of Greenfields at Smithfield has allegedly suffocated her one-year-old son because she cannot look after him anymore, Free State police said on Tuesday. Police spokesperson, Sergeant Yanga Ngcukana, said the incident happened on Monday morning between 5am and 7am. She allegedly used a pillow to suffocate the boy. Ngcukana said the motive for the murder seems to be that she was struggling to get help from family and neighbours to look after the child. It is alleged the mother said she was tired of always asking the neighbours for food to feed the boy. The woman was arrested after further interrogation by the police. Police said a case of murder was opened and the woman was arrested late on Monday night. She was expected to appear in court soon.

André Grobler/Bloemfontein Courant