Man appears for killing wife, bludgeoning children

Durban - A man accused of killing his wife while she slept and bludgeoning his children to death when they came to investigate, made a brief appearance in the Durban High Court on Monday.

Judge Shyam Gyanda postponed the case against Rajan Kandasamy to 4 February for further discussions between the defence and the prosecution.

Kandasamy was indicted in the Chatsworth Magistrate's Court in September.

According to the indictment, he and his wife Versha, known as Mala, were having marital problems.

They returned home to their Chatsworth home early on 29 December last year.

Kandasamy allegedly armed himself with two wooden maces and beat her to death in her bed.

While he was doing this, his children Megandran and Melarisa entered the bedroom.

He allegedly struck them both on their heads, also killing them. He then fled.

The cause of death, according to the post-mortem, was "blunt force injuries to the head".

Earlier it was reported that the murder weapon was a Gada, an ancient Indian mace.

The State is expected to call 17 witnesses during Kandasamy's trial.