A SUICIDAL woman was busted trying to strangle her eight-year-old child to death with a shoelace.

On Wednesday this week at around 1pm while Reneiloe Setoboli (53) was walking along Shetland Road in Queens Park East suburb she heard cries from a maize field.

Disturbed by that she walked into the maize field, shockingly she saw a woman strangling her child with a shoelace.

“She shouted at the woman and the woman released the hapless child who ran towards her while pleading for help. There was rat poison and a bottle full of a concoction beside the woman,” said the lady who works at Zimbabwe Saints sports bar.

Setoboli said residents joined hands in apprehending the woman.

“Residents took the woman to Queens Park Police Station leading to her arrest,” she said.

A source close to investigations said: “Initial investigations revealed that the suspect consumed poison so as to commit suicide. She and her child were taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals for medical examination,” said a source close to investigations.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the attempted murder incident:

“I can confirm that we arrested a woman who was caught allegedly strangling her eight-year-old child with a shoelace while beside her there was a bottle full of a concoction, rat poison and pieces of a bottle. We would like to advise members of the public to seek counselling from police’s Victim Friendly Unit (VFU) or approach pastors whenever they are faced with a problem at home.”- B-Metro