Police have arrested a 45-year-old man in connection with the murder and kidnapping of a seven-year-old girl whose body was found at a dumpsite in Parkside, KuGompo City, last week.
The child’s body was discovered in Second Creek on April 4 after she was reported missing.
Postmortem results show she was sexually assaulted and strangled.
According to police, the girl was last seen playing with friends near a local spaza shop when a man approached her and asked about her father.
A missing person’s case was opened after her father arrived and she was nowhere to be found.
Search and rescue teams later located the child’s body, prompting an investigation by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the suspect was arrested following witness statements and forensic findings.
“Following further investigation, including witness statements from the children who saw the deceased with the suspect, and a post-mortem confirming rape and strangulation, the suspect was detained,” said Gantana.
The man is expected to appear in the magistrate’s court in KuGompo City on April 9 on charges of murder, rape and kidnapping.
Gantana said the investigation was continuing.
Daily Dispatch
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