Johannesburg - Detectives want to give this girl’s name back to her.
Only with her name will they be able to find out just why she ended up dead in the Jukskei River.
Police have released an identikit of a child they believe is about 2 or 3 years old and was found on Saturday under a bridge on the R511 near Diepsloot.
She was found dressed in a pink tracksuit top with a pony picture on it, a blue top and jeans. A pink-striped sock was found a couple of metres away from the body.
But what has puzzled detectives is that no child has been reported missing in Diepsloot.
A post-mortem was conducted on the child on Tuesday, said deputy provincial commissioner Tebello Mosikili.
The preliminary results, she said, showed no signs of strangulation or sexual molestation. She said there was no indication what had killed the girl, although it is possible that she drowned.
“She had bite marks on her face and hands that were probably caused by crabs,” said Mosikili.
The child was in good health and well dressed.
An inquest investigation is under way and police have requested a toxicology investigation.
But Major-General Oswald Reddy, the cluster commander for the Diepsloot area, suspects that foul play may have been involved in the killing.
“It seems that whoever dumped the body used Diepsloot because it is renowned for child murders,” said Reddy.
He said that if the body had been swept down the river, it would have carried marks caused by collisions with rocks and branches. There were no such markings on the girl.
Reddy added the area was isolated and seldom visited.
Mosikili said two families had come forward. One of the families, from Roodepoort, had viewed the body but didn’t believe the child was theirs.
A mother, from Limpopo, was unable to view the body because she broke down.
DNA has been taken from both families and will be compared to that of the child.
Anyone with information can contact their nearest police station or Crime Stop at 08600 10 111 or SMS information to Crime Line at 32211.
The Star