Chatsworth family sentenced to life imprisonment for nanny's murder over insurance policy
COURT
Managie Jessica Chuttergoon, with her husband Amdhew Chuttergoon.
Image: Supplied
A CHATSWORTH couple and their daughter have been sentenced to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of killing their nanny they had taken a R750 000 life insurance policy on, without her knowledge.
Amdhew Chuttergoon, 49, his wife Managie Jessica Chuttergoon, 49, and their daughter, Thurashni Trailene Naidoo, 30, of Crossmoor, allegedly orchestrated the killing of Rashree Dwarika, 52, of Royal Manor in Phoenix.
They hired Dwarika to provide housekeeping and nanny services.
Dwarika was found dead in the pool of a holiday home the Chuttergoon’s had rented in Umzumbe, on the KZN South Coast, on June 17, 2023.
The post-mortem results confirmed that Dwarika had drowned.
Thurashni Trailene Naidoo
Image: Supplied
The couple and Naidoo were arrested in September 2023 and charged with premeditated murder, defeating the course of justice, fraud, forgery, uttering and theft.
According to the indictment, the family had allegedly published a fake advertisement for the employment of the domestic worker or nanny at their residence “with the aim of roping in their victim”.
It has been alleged that they then fraudulently obtained a life insurance policy for R750 000 with Discovery Life, which stated that Naidoo would be the beneficiary of the death pay-out if Dwarika died.
In WhatsApp messages used as evidence from the State, a Discovery Life insurance consultant asked Naidoo if the woman would do a mandatory blood test.
Naidoo said: “She better do the bloods. I need her to kick the bucket.”
A month after they had employed Dwarika, the family allegedly insisted she accompany them on a holiday.
On the second day of the trip, Dwarika was found dead in the pool of the holiday house.
After Dwarika was killed, the three allegedly stole her identity document and her cellphone.
They were charged for defeating the course of justice in the period of June 17 to 21, 2023, and were accused of destroying evidence in a murder investigation by having her body cremated.
At the start of trial in the Port Shepstone High Court in August, the couple and Naidoo, who were represented by attorney Shaheen Seedat, pleaded not guilty.
However, the trio were recently found guilty and each sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for fraud and 15 years for forgery and uttering.
Their application to appeal their sentence and conviction was denied.