A 21-year-old father from Middelplaas near Schoemansdal allegedly slit his three-week-old son’s throat on Wednesday March 1

A provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said it is alleged that the suspect was in the company of four of his friends, when he forcefully snatched the boy from his 15-year-old mother and left.

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“The worried mother and her family did not report this to the police immediately. They hoped the baby was safe in his father’s custody and started to conduct their own search. As dawn broke, there was no sign of the child’s return, so they finally reported the matter to the Schoemansdal SAPS,” said Mohlala.

He said the police immediately launched a manhunt. “Our members received information that the child’s body was found dumped in the bushes a few metres from the water reservoir and a diesel depot in Middelplaas. The child was found wrapped with a bloody blanket and a towel, his throat cut open.”

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Mohlala said the investigation was intensified, and information was received that the suspect, the child’s father, was at his uncle’s place in KaMaqhekeza, where he had arrived with a bag full of clothes.

“The Schoemansdal police did not waste time and followed up this lead. The suspect was found in his uncle’s house on Thursday March 2 and was arrested. He will be charged with kidnapping, murder and defeating the ends of justice. Considering the age of the child’s mother, statutory rape charge will also be added. He is expected to appear in the Nkomazi Magistrate’s Court in Tonga soon,” he said.