Kimberley - The half-naked body of a 17-year-old girl, who was reportedly raped, strangled and then tied to a railway track, has been discovered in De Aar.
The community of De Aar was still in shock on Sunday after the body of Eleanor Bianca “Telelo” Micheal was discovered last week at a railway line.
The incident has raised fears among the community that a “serial killer” might be on the loose in De Aar following a number of murders in the area in the last couple of months.
Eleanor was last seen on Wednesday evening by her great-grandmother, Anna Robertina Ferris, who is her guardian.
Ferris is also the great-grandmother of Gladys Makaleni who, along with her husband Glenwill and their son Gladwill, was murdered in De Aar last month.
Ferris said that Eleanor left the house on Wednesday evening but did not say where she was going.
“That was the last time I saw my great-granddaughter. The next morning I saw that she had not come home and a few minutes later a police vehicle arrived at my gate. I knew something had happened but they (the police) spoke to Eleanor’s uncle, who afterwards came into the house and, while crying, told me that ‘Leentjie’ had been murdered,” Ferris said.
Eleanor’s uncle, Petrus Ferris, said that he went to the scene where he saw her body lying next to the railway track.
“Her pants and underwear were wrapped around her one ankle, while it appeared as if her one hip was broken. She had a shoelace tied around her neck, which was also tied to the railway track. There was blood around her mouth. It appeared as if her attacker had first raped and choked her, before tying her to the railway track with the intent that she be crushed and decapitated by a train,” he said.
He added that it appeared as if Eleanor had, however, summoned her last bit of strength to move her head to the side of the track to avoid being hit by a train.
“She was tied to the Port Elizabeth railway line, which did not run while she was there. It would, however, have been a completely different story had she been left on the Cape Town line, which was in use during the time that she was missing,” he said.
He added that the last conversation he had with his niece was on Wednesday night, at around 9pm, when she had asked him when he would be buying her the pair of sneakers he had promised her.
“I was planning on buying it for her the next day, but now her last wish will never be granted.”
Petrus and local community leaders said that the incident had left the community “living in fear” and that they now feared a “serial killer” might be on the loose, following several murders in the area in the last couple of months.
Eleanor was a pupil at the Willie Theron Primary School in De Aar.
Police on Sunday confirmed the incident, saying that police in De Aar were investigating a case of murder and possible rape following the discovery of the body of a 17-year-old girl.
“The half-naked body was discovered at a railway line in De Aar. The body had a shoelace tied around the neck and to the railway line. The body has been identified as that of Telelo Micheal. The circumstances surrounding the incident is not yet known,” police spokeswoman, Lieutenant-Colonel Dimakatso Mooi, said.
She added that a 36-year-old man was arrested on Saturday morning at around 5am and that he was expected to appear in court in connection with the incident on Monday.