Mom, son found dead in car

Fumes from a highly concentrated cocktail of chemicals are believed to have led to the deaths of a 30-year-old woman and her eight-year-old son in a car in the parking lot of a shopping centre.

Emily Makhubane, 30, and her eight-year-old son, Jason, were found in a grey Chevrolet Aveo by security guards at the Atterbury Value Mart who went to investigate why the car was parked in the parking lot early on Wednesday.

The guards knocked at the windows of the car and became suspicious when the woman and boy did not respond. They alerted the police.

Officers arrived with emergency services personnel, who managed to open one of the car doors and were assailed by a foul smell like rotten eggs.

A chemical mixture was discovered in a bucket on the back seat.

The two front seats were in a reclining position and the woman and her son were covered with blankets.

The scene soon attracted the attention of shoppers, many of whom tried to find out what the officers were doing.

Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Annabel Middleton said that no note had been found in the vehicle.

“We will be investigating why this tragedy happened,” Middleton said.

No crime was suspected at this stage.

However, an inquest docket and a murder case had been opened, Middleton said.

Netcare911 spokesman Jeffrey Wicks said: “The woman and child were declared dead at the scene.”

Police were trying to establish on Wednesday what chemicals had been mixed in the bucket.

Initial suggestions were that household chemicals could have been mixed with hydrogen sulphide.

According to information from Wikipedia, hydrogen sulphide <&bh”http://www.vngas.com/pdf/g94.pdf”>at higher levels can irritate mucous membranes and cause headache, fatigue, dizziness, and even memory loss and bronchitis with repeated exposure.

Mixed with other chemicals, hydrogen sulphide can apparently lead to death.

Makhubane’s younger sister broke down at the police station when she was shown the car in which the mother and son died.

The family said they did not know what might have led Makhubane to fill the car with chemical fumes.

“When we saw her (on Tuesday) she was fine and seemed happy,” her mother said.

“We don’t know what to tell you at this stage because we don’t know why she did this.”

karabo.seanego@inl.co.za

Pretoria News

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