Cape Town - Police have arrested a 48-year-old man in connection with the murder and mutilation of a 16-year-old girl, whose body was found in Kraaifontein.
The body of Charmaine Mare, 16, was discovered near a shooting range in Kraaifontein by police on Monday afternoon. The body was burnt, and the arms and legs had been cut off.
Upon checking the missing persons list, investigators found that Charmaine had been reported missing on January 11.
Charmaine, who had recently travelled from Mpumalanga to Cape Town to visit relatives, was left in the care of the partner of a friend’s mother, while the latter two went on a week-long holiday. When the friend and her mother returned from their trip, Charmaine was missing.
A Kraaifontein man has been arrested in connection with the murder.
“When detectives questioned the family, the suspect was also present. He was very vague with his answers, while the rest of the family was very helpful with their answers,” said police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk.
“The behaviour of this man made the SAPS detectives detain him for further questioning. Detectives went to investigate the case by searching the family’s two vehicles, and the field around the scene where the body was found. The two arms… were found inside the garage of the house.”
Van Wyk said the house in Elterman Street, Windsor Park, was less than 100m from where a poster was put up to say Charmaine was missing.
The suspect was to appear in the Blue Down’s Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Sapa has reported that
workers found the skeletal remains of a child while digging near Lentegeur Hospital in Mitchells Plain yesterday morning, the Western Cape Health Department said.
“The bones were found in a blanket while workers did maintenance on a fence,” said department spokeswoman Faiza Steyn.
The police were called to the scene, but could not be reached for comment immediately.
Cape Argus