Limpopo police arrested an 18-year-old teenager in connection with the murder of his five-month-old son in Jimmy Jones Village near Malamulele in Limpopo last night.

Polokwane Review reports that the father was arrested at around 22:00, following an intensive investigation by local detectives.

According to Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the baby’s mother went to the Malamulele Police Station to report a case of domestic violence after she was assaulted, allegedly by her boyfriend, who is the child’s father.

“While lodging the complaint, she told officers that the suspect had also assaulted their baby multiple times.

“Fearing for her safety, she fled the home, leaving the [baby] behind. Police accompanied her to the house, where they made a gruesome discovery of the lifeless body of the baby lying on the floor,” he says.

Ledwaba says the child had visible injuries to the head and face, indicating that he had been severely assaulted.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe condemned the brutal killing, describing it as ‘a heartbreaking act of violence that no child should ever endure’.

“The pain of losing a child in such a horrific manner is unimaginable. We commend our detectives for their swift and dedicated efforts in ensuring that the perpetrator was arrested within hours,” she says.

The suspect will face a charge of murder when he appears in the Malamulele Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.

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