The identities of a man and woman whose bodies were found outside Groblersdal in Limpopo on Sunday morning are yet to be established.
Police say the motive behind the apparent murder and suicide was still under investigation.
Police were alerted to the scene after a passerby saw the body of a 37-year-old man hanging from a tree.
When officials arrived they found the body of a 22-year-old woman, who had bruises around her neck. They also discovered a four-month-old baby, playing next to the bodies.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe told News24 that it was difficult to establish what had happened, but his team was hard at work to get to the bottom of it.
"The identities of the man and women have not yet been confirmed, but we are still trying to connect the dots to what really happened - and investigations are ongoing," Ngoepe said.
The baby had been placed into care.
"The baby is still with us, and we cannot yet confirm who the parents are, as we are awaiting results from forensic to confirm whether the deceased were the parents," Ngoepe added.