DURBAN – A family of seven has been killed in Newark in KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast.
The victims’ ages range from the 20s to the 80s -- four women and three men.
Their bodies were found dumped in a field in Melmoth on Thursday morning.
They had been shot and stabbed.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the murders after they were found in possession of two cell phones belonging to the victims.
Police have also recovered a firearm believed to have been used to commit the crime.
eNCA understands police were initially alerted to a house robbery on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the kidnapping was confirmed after a domestic worker arrived and found no one at the house.
The youngest woman - 20-years-old - was allegedly raped at the house before the family was tied up and forced into their van to take the two-hour trip to their deaths. There, the woman was raped again.
The motive for the attack is still under investigation but it is suspected that two of the alleged killers were at some point employed by the family.