Daily Mail
September 25, 2015
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A care assistant strangled his wife and then hanged himself in a brutal murder-suicide – just hours after sending their disabled children to stay with a friend on Christmas Eve, an inquest heard today.
Jan Tshabalala, 33, and his wife Julia, 30, had a festive turkey dinner with their four-year-old daughter and six-year-old son a day early at their home in Billingshurst, West Sussex, last year.
The couple then asked their friend, Joseph Mashiloane, to babysit the youngsters, who attend a school specialising in learning difficulties, the inquest at County Hall North, Horsham, was told.
Hours later, Mr Mashiloane apparently received a worrying text message from Tshabalala apologising and begging him to call officers. The text ended: ‘Tell the kids I love them forever’.
He rushed to the Tshabalalas’ home at 8.30am on Christmas Day, where he discovered both of his friends’ bodies, accompanied by a chilling suicide note, which was handwritten by Jan Tshabalala.
In his final note, the South Africa-born father of two had said: ‘Please take care of our lovely kids.
‘We love them and please tell them every day. Mummy and daddy.
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‘We wish not to take them into care. Sorry guys, kids, keep them them here and safe.’
Telephone numbers for other family members were also penned on the letter.
Mr Mashiloane told the inquest how he had shouted through the letterbox before entering the house through the open back door. Once inside, he found Jan Tshabalala hanging from the loft, he said.
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