Reader asks: How can a murder suspect be released?

What I don’t understand about this murder case is that a suspect was initially arrested by the Katlehong SAPS soon after the victim’s body was discovered on April 15th.

The suspect who was arrested for the murder, according to another local newspaper, was identified as the boyfriend of the dead woman.

The suspect later appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court where the case was formally remanded, and the suspect detained. And now, in the Kathorus MAIL edition of February 26, the same story appears differently, and the suspect has been released due to a lack of evidence.

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How on earth is that possible? How can a suspect that had already been arrested, and appeared in court after he was charged with a serious crime such as murder, be released due to “lack of evidence”? Where is the original evidence on which he was charged?

Why can’t the police produce the same evidence they had used to arrest him initially as evidence of his involvement in the murder?

It is now almost a month since the suspect was released, and the police have not re-arrested him for the murder of his girlfriend. What this means is that the Katlehong SAPS wrongfully arrested an innocent man, and dragged him to court for an alleged murder he did not commit.

This is a serious indictment against the ability of the police to investigate a crime, and conclusively produce evidence in court to convict criminals. Now one understands why our detention centres are overflowing with criminals who cannot be convicted because detectives are failing to investigate crimes and provide proof.

Now we have an unsolved murder case which, as the article rightfully explained, has baffled the Katlehong SAPS and put investigators in a very tight spot.

Eugene Baloyi

Ebasuthwini Section

Vosloorus

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