Cape Town - A community in Cape Town has been left in shock after two teenagers were stoned before being locked up inside a Wendy house, set alight and burnt to death.
The 15-year-old girl and 18-year-old boy were allegedly killed by teenage gangsters in Wallacedene on Sunday night.
The police are investigating why Adalaine Bruiners, 15, and her friend, the unidentified son of a local taxi owner, were murdered, but it’s believed to be gang-related.
A resident who asked not to be identified, says the Wendy house was being used to store old furniture.
“The kids used my Wendy house to hang out and to smoke their (hookah) pipe. But what happened here on Sunday night is shocking,” the witness said.
“The gang soaked the Wendy house with petrol, then they threw the boy and girl with stones against their heads until they lost consciousness.
“The children were out when they were set alight. The fire was so intense that no one could get near it. The fire services didn’t even realise there were dead people inside, they only discovered their bodies two hours later.”
Adalaine’s traumatised mother Elaine last saw her eldest daughter alive on Sunday afternoon.
“She was our own Barbie, everyone called her Barbie at Scottsdene High School, she was in Grade 9 there,” the mother sobbed.
“She was a joker, but not a troublemaker. On Sunday afternoon she went to my sister who lives at the blue flats in Scottsdene, not knowing that I would never see her alive again.
“I kept trying to call her cell after 7pm, but it went to voicemail. A friend of my husband came to tell us after 9pm that Barbie possibly burnt to death in Wallacedene.”
A heartbroken Adam, 47, said: “When we got to the hokkie, it was burnt to the ground and people were gawking.”
The Democratic Alliance ward councillor for Scottsdene, Grant Twigg, urged the community to work with police to arrest the killers.
Captain FC Van Wyk says two cases of murder are being investigated.
“Currently both cases are being investigated by the gang unit and several people are being questioned. The investigation is currently at a very sensitive stage therefore this office does not want to elaborate further on this matter.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Warrant Officer Dirkie van Renen on 021 980 5558.
Daily Voice