A crazed mother who bludgeoned her four children to death with a sledgehammer has been seized by police after confessing: “They had to die first.”

Nomboleko Simayile, 32, killed her four children – two boys and two girls, aged 11, nine, five and two – as they slept next to her at their home in Engcobo, South Africa, on 8th November.

She then reportedly called her husband to confess.

Her devastated father, Mthundezi Simayile, told how he found his grandchildren’s bodies in the early hours of the following morning.

He told local media: “She said, ‘I killed the children.’ I asked her again. She said, ‘Dad, I killed my children. They had to die first.’

“When we went inside, we found the children’s bodies were lifeless. I think she started with the older one.”

Simayile appeared at Engcobo Magistrates’ Court on 10th November accused of four counts of murder.

She was remanded in custody and will appear before a judge again next week for a custody hearing.

The South African Police Service said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “Detectives are investigating murder cases following the death of four children this morning at Mhlabubomvu locality in Engcobo.

“According to the report, the 32-year-old mother together with her four children aged between two and 11, were sleeping in their home in the village, when in the morning, four deceased bodies of the children were found in the Rondavel hut where they were sleeping. Preliminary investigation reveals that they had been assaulted by their own mother with a sledge hammer. Consequently, they suffered serious injuries to the upper bodies.

“The circumstances surrounding the incident will form part of the investigation. The mother was immediately arrested and will be charged for murder. She is expected to appear in Engcobo Magistrate’s Court once charged.”