Police in KwaZulu-Natal said in a statement on Wednesday that the decomposed body found in Longberry Drive in Phoenix earlier this month was confirmed to be Miguel Louw’s remains.
Authorities had discovered nine-year-old Sydenham pupil’s corpse after he was last seen on July 17.
Provincial spokesperson for the police Colonol Thembeka Mbele said DNA evidence had conclusively determined the identity of the victim.
The body had been found by the head of a private security company, while security officers were chasing robbers in a completely unrelated case.
It was already almost a complete certainty that the body was of Miguel because of the school jacket he was wearing when he went missing.
A gigantic billboard was erected in the area in the middle of last month offering a large reward for information.
Miguel was allegedly kidnapped in July while returning home from school. A 43-year-old man, Mohammed Ebrahim, a family acquaintance, has already been arrested and charged in relation to the crime on human trafficking charges.
Video evidence shows him allegedly buying the boy KFC near his school, although it is unclear if they then entered a taxi together.
Ebrahim was granted bail of R2‚500 in the Durban Magistrate’s Court in August. When Ebrahim was arrested‚ he was found in possession of Louw’s original birth certificate and his mother’s ID book.
Ebrahim was initially due to return to court on October 17 but is now likely to be rearrested so further charges can be laid.
