Kinross police discover body of missing teenage girl – suspect in custody for another murder
Investigations have connected the suspect to two Kinross murders.
The Kinross SAPS discovered the body of a 17-year-old girl inside a locked shack on May 28. Mpumalanga spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Jabu Ndubane said officers found the body in one of the bedrooms.
He said the girl had been missing since May 23. According to the police report, officers were asked to search a house linked to her stepfather, Sifiso Khumalo, who had been arrested the same day for murder in an unrelated case.
When police arrived at the shack in Ext 33, Marikana, Kinross, they found the doors and burglar gates locked. They forced entry and discovered the naked body of a young girl, believed to be the missing teen, in a semi-decomposed state in the bedroom.
She lay on a bed, covered with blankets, her legs open. She had severe head injuries, including a deep wound and a crushed forehead.
The police suspect she was raped before being killed. Officers found a bloodstained pipe wrench (bobbejaan spanner) next to the bed and believe it was used in the murder.
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Preliminary investigations indicate the victim had recently argued with her stepfather, Khumalo, over his plans to sell the shack previously owned by her late mother. The teen had reportedly objected, concerned about where her younger siblings would then live.
Further investigations connected Khumalo, already in custody for the May 23 murder of his 34-year-old girlfriend, Dibuseng Madela, in Kinross, to this case. He is now a suspect in both murders.
The body of 34-year-old Dibuseng Madela was found in a pool of blood, with stains visible on the walls, in Kinross Ext 21, Marikana section, on May 23.
Khumalo was arrested and charged with her murder the same day. Madela was buried on May 31 in Kinross. Khumalo has appeared twice in the Evander Magistrate’s Court, which postponed the case to June 4.
Acting provincial SAPS commissioner in Mpumalanga, Major-General Zeph Mkhwanazi, expressed concern over rising GBV cases.
“The brutal killing of women and children is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We are committed to ensuring those responsible face the full might of the law,” Mkhwanazi said.
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