Cape Town – Slain Tazne van Wyk was remembered on what would have been her 9th birthday on Monday.
Tazne, who lived in Connaught Estate, Ravensmead, disappeared on February 7 when she left home to buy an ice lolly at a shop a few steps away from her home.
Her body was found 12 days later in a stormwater drain near the N1 in Worcester, a location reportedly pointed out by the man accused of murdering her, 54-year-old Moyhdian Pangarker
Tazne’s mother, Carmen van Wyk, said: “It isn’t easy, as anyone would imagine. It’s very hard but we are holding up.
“We are thinking of her and this morning (yesterday) we were talking about her, how she would’ve talked her way into having at least something small just for her, the younger sister and a few friends her age. She was very reasonable when it came to having something small for a special day.”
Van Wyk said she was grateful for all the birthday wishes received, and that the family were slowly learning to live with the fact that Tazne was gone, and an angel watched over them.
Pangarker’s case was postponed in April as a result of the national lockdown.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila had said Pangarker would make his next court appearance at the end of this month.
He said investigations were ongoing and additional dockets were being opened regarding new complainants.
“Final decisions in respect of additional charges will be made upon finalisation of the investigation,” he said.
Pangarker, who has a long list of previous offences, including murder of a minor, was arrested by the Western Cape Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, together with Crime intelligence, in Cradock in the Eastern Cape.
Cape Times