Kimberley - Another young Northern Cape boy has been murdered... this time allegedly by the boyfriend of his guardian.
The half-naked body of six-year-old William Duiker was discovered on a railway line in De Aar by a four-year-old relative.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested.
Duiker suffered severe injuries to his head and face after he was apparently hit with a rock while his pants, underpants and shoes were removed. These were found a few metres from his body.
A rock covered in blood was found on the scene while a blood-splattered electricity box bore testimony to the brutal attack.
On Sunday two pools of blood were still visible on the railway line where Duiker’s four-year-old nephew discovered his body.
He was last seen on Wednesday evening in the company of the boyfriend of one of his older sisters and his body was found on Thursday morning.
Duiker was part of a child-headed household and lived with his two older sisters, a brother and the son of one of his sisters, in Extension 7, De Aar. His mother passed away and his father is in prison.
According to a friend of the family, the children were “rescued” after they were found wandering the rubbish dump in De Aar a few years ago.
The woman said that the suspect (the boyfriend) was recently released from prison and did not want to accept the fact that one of the sisters wanted to break up with him.
“He could not accept that the girl did not want to be with him anymore.
“He became obsessed and it is believed that he killed her young brother out of revenge because he knew that the two were very close,” she said.
She added that the suspect went to the children’s house on Wednesday night where the sister again told him that she wanted nothing to do with him and chased him away.
“They were having supper when the boyfriend allegedly lured William away from the house by telling him that he should go with him to the tuckshop where he would buy him a packet of chips.
“That was the last time he was seen alive,” the woman said.
Police launched a massive manhunt for the suspect but he was only arrested on Saturday morning, after he was found by members of the community hiding at the rubbish dump.
They took him to the De Aar police station and he was arrested.
He is currently in custody and expected to appear in the De Aar Magistrate’s Court on Monday on a charge of murder.
While it was initially believed that Duiker was raped, a post-mortem, which was performed on Friday, ruled out this possibility and also found that the cause of death was injuries to the head.
Duiker’s siblings, as well as his nephew, were taken to a place of safety and are receiving trauma counselling.
Duiker was described as a quiet, loving, “sunshine” child, who kept to himself and would never do any harm to anyone.
Police spokeswoman, Brigadier Masebueng Mochologi, on Sunday confirmed that a 24-year-old suspect has been was arrested in connection with the incident and was expected to appear in court on a charge of murder on Monday.
She also appealed to members of the public with information regarding the case to contact the investigating officer, Captain Matshidiso Mofokeng on 082 4553 873 or 053 6329 545.
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