Mystery of mutilated body deepens

Katlehong SAPS at the Ramokonopi precinct believe a telephone call made by a frantic woman reporting the kidnapping of her brother in Ratanda Township in Heidelburg on the afternoon of Saturday, May 21, could be linked to the mysterious discovery of a charred and dismembered human torso found 30km away in Siluma View, in Vosloorus, the next morning.

This follows a preliminary probe after the grim discovery of a naked, mutilated and partially burnt body in a rivulet in Siluma View, in the early hours of Sunday, May 22. The SAPS in Katlehong hope the call could bring them closer to solving the gruesome crime.

According to Capt Mega Ndobe, the spokesperson for the Katlehong SAPS, the half-naked body of an unidentified person was spotted by a passerby in the early hours of the morning, at about 11am. When detectives arrived at the scene, they found a dismembered torso with its head, arms and lower body parts missing. The upper part of the body was burnt and only what remained of its arms could be identified as those of a human body.

Ndobe told Kathorus MAIL that the upper part of the torso was severely burnt while the lower abdomen had been cut off making it difficult for investigators to identify either the victim or its sex. Ndobe explained that despite a thorough search of the surrounding area, investigators failed to locate any of the missing body parts.

He said police suspected at the time that the person may have been murdered elsewhere and the torso then transported and dumped where it was found near the small river on Sunday morning. “Our suspicions may be confirmed by the woman’s call in Heidelberg. But a lot will depend on the outcome of the forensic test results linking the kidnapped person with the mutilated torso found in Vosloorus,” Ndobe explained.

Meanwhile, investigating officers in the murder case, Captain Mohlamme and W/O Nkanyane, have appealed to anyone with information about the murder to contact them immediately on 082 719 8373 and on 082 332 6915 respectively.