Nathaniel Julies murder case postponed to December

The case involving three police officers arrested for the murder of a teenager with Down’s syndrome in Eldorado Park has been postponed to 8 December. 

The officers were on Friday scheduled to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court to face a number of charges. 

A third suspect in the case, Voster Netshiongolo, was arrested on 1 September for murder as an accessory after the fact, defeating the ends of justice and being in possession of prohibited ammunition. 

Suspect one and two – Simon “Scorpion” Ndyalvane and Caylene Whiteboy – were arrested on 28 August. They are being charged with murder, discharging a firearm in public, possession of ammunition and defeating the administration of justice. 

The suspects have been in police custody since September. All three are accused of shooting and killing 16-year-old Nathaniel Julies on the evening of 26 August. 

The murder resulted in intense social unrest in Eldorado Park, with residents calling for a complete overhaul of police in the area. Stun grenades and rubber bullets had to be used to disperse angry crowds. 

Julies, affectionately known as “Lokkie”, was in the junior class at Don Mattera School. 

His mother, Bridget Harris, described him as a “wonderful child” at his funeral at Mount Carmel Ministries in September. 

It is alleged that police gunned down Julies, who had run to hide behind a vehicle near his home so that other children wouldn’t steal his biscuits. 

His family told the media that after his shooting, police dropped him off at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital without the family present, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. 

Compiled by Nica Richards

(Additional reporting by News24 Wire)

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