MANY questions remain unanswered in the mysterious kidnapping and murder of Heilbron Magistrate Mamello Thamae (40).
Her body was found in the boot of her vehicle in Mokhotlong, Lesotho on Friday, 22 September.
It is not clear whether the magistrate was killed in Heilbron and her body smuggled to Lesotho, or whether her implicated husband managed to cross the border with a body in the vehicle.
Free State police spokeswoman Captain Lorraine Earle said all these questions would be based on outcomes of the post-mortem.
Earle said the husband briefly appeared in court in Lesotho facing a charge of murder on Monday, 25 September.
The National Department of Justice has described Thamae as a dedicated regional magistrate and acting judge.
The husband of the slain magistrate is still in custody in Lesotho.
Police are in the process of extraditing him to South Africa.
He was questioned by Lesotho Mounted police, who showed them the body of Thamae, which was in the boot of the vehicle.
The couple was reported missing on Thursday, 21 September, and they used the Ficksburg border post to leave the country.
The incident has traumatised the residents of Phiritona in Heilbron.
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A resident (47) said: "The case shouldn't be treated like a normal gender-based violence and femicide matter. We suspect the syndicate of human trafficking between these countries. The husband was not a well-known person in our township.
"We suspect he is a Lesotho national who came to Mzansi for criminal purposes."
The residents said police should also question the officials at the border post.
"If he crossed the border with a body in the vehicle, it would show South Africa is a lawless state with no future. The incident shocked us. We deserve to know what happened," said another resident.
The family of the slain magistrate is not known in Heilbron to address the media concerning the developments and funeral preparations.
The implicated husband faces possible charges of kidnapping and murder when he returns to Mzansi for prosecution.
