Father And Two Young Daughters Found Dead In Locked Tongaat Home

A heartbreaking discovery has left the Tongaat community reeling after a father and his two young daughters were found dead inside a locked house in Belvedere on Tuesday.

The grim find came shortly after the children’s mother was alerted by a school transporter that her daughters had not arrived at school that morning.

It is alleged that 37-year-old Leon Munsamy, who worked for a petroleum company, poisoned his daughters, aged four and seven, before taking his own life. It is understood that he was separated from his wife.

Alarm Raised After Daughters Fail to Arrive at School

According to private security company On Target, officers were called to the property in Sastri Circle at about 1.20pm.

Spokesperson Megan Mottiahn said access to the home was initially not possible.

“When we got to the scene, the house was locked and we could not get in. The neighbour had notified us that they had tried calling the father several times but there was no answer,” said Mottiahn.

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“Our guys proceeded to go into the premises and found a 37-year-old male hanged from the ceiling. They went further into the house and found two female children who were dead. From the looks of it, the children were possibly poisoned. They had been frothing from their mouths before they died.”

Security officials were told that the mother became concerned after being informed by the school transport service that the girls had not reached school.

“The mother said the transporter from the school notified her that the children were not at school. It is alleged that the incident happened last night,” Mottiahn added.

Neighbourhood Left in Shock

Residents in the Sastri Circle area said they heard loud music from the house the previous evening but did not suspect anything was amiss.

Clive Chetty, a relative of the deceased, described him as calm and said the loss has devastated the family.

“He was always calm. This is shocking. The children lived with their mom. He has them on the weekends and they were with him last night. The children go to school.

“He has been living in this house from June. We also heard the music last night but did not think anything of it,” said Chetty.

Community Leaders Call for Mental Health Support

Daniel Chettiar, founder of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) in the North Coast, said they responded to the scene soon after the discovery.

“Mental health issues and the suicide rate among men is worrying. People are battling to make ends meet. Divorce adds to it. Whatever the circumstances were, for a man to decide to take his two children’s lives and his own could not have been easy.

“For this man to do this to his own children and himself means he had no hope in anything,” he added. “This is mental illness not selfishness. Depression is a terrible disease and seems relentless. A lot of us have been close to that edge, or dealt with family members in a crisis, and some have lost friends and loved ones.

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“We need to look out for each other and stop sweeping mental illness under the rug. We need dialogue, community empowerment and awareness programmes to curb the suicide rate,” Chettiar added.

Ward councillor Dolly Munien described the tragedy as deeply distressing. “It is really devastating. I would not want any family, or mother to go through such pain. These were innocent children, and no matter the situation, they should not have been robbed of their lives. My prayers are with the family. I also urge people battling mental health issues or are victims of domestic violence to seek help.”

Community activist Don Perumall said: “No words can express the heart-wrenching pain of this loss of lives. My sincere condolences to the family. May the departed rest in eternal peace.”

Rachael Naidoo, secretary of the Tongaat Civic Association, added: “Once again children are the innocent victims. This tragedy highlights the need for families to seek the necessary assistance to deal with the pressures that they may face. As a community we must rally together and offer support rather than being judgemental.”

Authorities are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.