A 34-year-old man appeared in the Polokwane magistrate’s court on Tuesday in connection with the killing of his girlfriend’s two-year-old son on May 25.
The man was arrested last Sunday, which was also the first day of National Child Protection Week, an initiative by the department of social development. National Child Protection Week is celebrated from June 1 to 8.
It is alleged that the man and a friend went to his girlfriend’s house in Extension 71A, Seshego, where he broke a window to gain access to the house.
An argument started between the man and his girlfriend.
The 27-year-old woman was at home with her two-year-old and two siblings aged 10 and 14.
Provincial police spokesperson, Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi, said the woman managed to escape and went to her aunt’s house for help. She left her son and two siblings in the house.
It is alleged that the man threw the toddler against the wall, slashed his throat with a broken bottle and stabbed a 14-year-old in the head when he tried to intervene.
“The two children were taken to the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital. The teenager was treated and discharged, but the two-year-old died,” he said.
The suspect remains in police custody and the case was postponed to June 11.
The Westenburg police are investigating a murder and attempted murder case.
The police are still looking for the man’s friend.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts can contact the Westenburg police station at (015) 292 9410/15.
