A man from Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, was charged with murder after his six-year-old stepdaughter’s body was retrieved from a nearby dam in the area. Her body was allegedly retrieved from the damn in Block GG. “Preliminary investigations suggest that this transpired after a fight between the suspect and his 22-year-old girlfriend who is the deceased child’s mother,” police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said, adding the mother was not home at the time of the child’s disappearance.
The couple and child were understood to have lived together in Block PP2, Ndlozi section in Soshanguve. “On Sunday, 22 December, police embarked on a search for the little girl after she had been reported missing at Rietgat SAPS,” Peters said, explaining the 60-year-old was identified as a suspect in the child’s disappearance during their “critical initial investigation.”
“On Monday, 24 December – a day after the disappearance of the child – the man pointed the police to the exact spot where he had allegedly dumped the body of the six-year-old,” Peters said.
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The exact cause of the child’s death was expected to be confirmed by the outcome of a post mortem report, even though visible injuries to the body suggested she was strangled. While the nature of visible injuries on the victim’s body suggest the child had been strangled, the exact cause of death will be confirmed by the outcome of the post mortem, set to be conducted in due course.
“Police have, at this point, been able to also establish that the suspect is an ex-convict who previously spent 25 years behind bars for the murder of his then ex-wife and her lover,” Peters said.
Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela condemned the alleged killing, citing it as “callous and heartless.”
“While it will probably be of cold comfort to the family of the deceased six-year old girl, the management of police in Gauteng is pleased with the quick thinking of investigators who were able to swiftly connect the dots, identifying the perpetrator and locating the victim,” Mawela said.
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He reaffirmed the police’s commitment to prioritise the investigation of cases of gender based violence, especially where children are the victims.
Meanwhile, Rietgat police were instructed to ensure the six-year-old’s mother and immediate family would be provided with the necessary support from the victim support programme.
The 60-year-old was expected to appear before the Soshanguve magistrate court on Friday, 27 December.
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