A 21-year-old from Middleplaas outside Malelane in Mpumalanga has been locked up for slitting the throat of his newborn baby, killing the innocent child instantly.
It is alleged that the father forcefully snatched the baby from its 15-year-old mother on Wednesday. The mother was in the company of friends when the incident happened.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the mother and members of her family launched a search when the killer father failed to return the baby.
“As the dawn broke with no sign of the child, they reported the matter to Schoemansdal SAPS [SA Police Service] on Thursday, after they suspected something sinister might have happened to the child,” Mohlala said.
A police manhunt was launched to reunite the baby boy with its mother.
Later in the day, the police received information about a dead body of a child that had been dumped in the bushes a few metres from a water reservoir and diesel depot in Middleplaas.
The child was discovered wrapped in a bloodied blanket and towel.
“An investigation was intensified and information was received that the suspect was at his uncle’s place at Kamaqhekeza outside Komatipoort, where he arrived with a bag full of clothes,” Mohlala said.
He was found in the house and was arrested on the spot. The suspect faces charges of kidnapping, murder, and defeating the ends of justice.
Considering the age of the child’s mother, a charge of statutory rape is likely to be added to the charge sheet when he appears at the Nkomazi magistrate’s court in Tonga soon.
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