Family awaits DNA test results to bury their son
DNA tests were conducted and the Investigating officer is still awaiting the results from Forensic Services.
Police say the investigating officer in the case of a 45-year-old Mamelodi East man who burnt to death is still awaiting results from Forensic Services.
The wait has left the family of the dead man, Solomon Bafana Mashiane, concerned as they remain unable to continue with arrangements for a funeral.
Police spokesperson, Captain Johannes van Dyk, said an inquest was opened because the deceased’s body was burnt beyond recognition in his home.
The deceased’s brother, Jan Mashiane, told Rekord nobody knows the cause of fire, however there was a heater left unattended, and that is the suspected cause.
He confirmed that his brother was burnt beyond recognition, and after this police asked for DNA tests to determine who had been left charred in the fire, confirming that he, as the biological brother, approved the tests.
“DNA tests were conducted and the investigating officer still awaits results from forensic services,” said van Dyk. He did not, however, provide an explanation for the delay in receiving the results.
The wait has delayed the process to bury Mashiane who lost his life when his place burned to the ground on June 14.
His brother said the family needed to move on. “However we’re stuck because of DNA tests,” he said, adding that the family is frustrated by the long wait.
“We don’t even know when [the DNA tests] are coming back. The whole family is affected.”
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