DURBAN - A pair of bloodied shoes laid at the foot of the stairs leading to the bedroom where a 7-year-old girl was raped and stabbed to death, a police officer has revealed.
Investigating officer Captain Manuel Bonginkosi Zulu gave evidence at the Verulam Family Court during the bail application of the accused, Laston Moodley. He painted a picture of the scene where he alleged Moodley raped and murdered the little girl.
“110 people are raped in South Africa each day, 41% of the victims are children,” said Zulu.
The identity of the murdered child cannot be revealed to the public, the court ruled.
On the morning of July 28, the girl was allegedly raped, stabbed and left for dead in the Waterloo. She succumbed to her injuries in hospital, said police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele.
Giving evidence against Moodley’s bail application, Zulu perused through pictures of the alleged crime scene and painted a picture of where the child was believed to have been stabbed.
“There is a picture of the kitchen sink with blood stains on the floor, a KFC packet, clothes and cigarettes. In the room upstairs there is blood on the mattress and clothes in the bedroom, and 2 packs of cigarettes,” he said.
The flat, Zulu told the magistrate, belonged to Moodley’s mother-in-law, where two witnesses saw Moodley take the child into the house, and out again later, he said.
Earlier, Moodley told the court through his attorney that he was innocent and had an alibi who was with him at a local supermarket and the bank. He said he did not know the victim.
But Zulu said there was strong evidence linking the man to the little girl’s horrific death.
“We have witnesses from whom we have obtained statements, doctors evidence, and evidence from the scene,” he said.
Zulu said Moodley knew the deceased and gave her money to buy cigarettes for him from a local tuck shop.
During a lengthy cross-examination, Zulu admitted he could not confirm whose blood stained the house he earlier spoke of.
Zulu is set to continue being cross-examined as the bail application continues later in the day.