Man charged with murder after skeletal remains of missing Plett teen found

A man has been charged with the murder of a Plettenberg Bay teenager whose skeletal remains were found four months after she went missing.

Motseki Palasi from Kwanokuthula appeared in the local magistrate’s court on Monday on charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice.

He is expected to make a formal bail application on October 4.

Palasi was arrested after Sandisile Mona, 17, was identified through DNA testing.

Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said her body was found by a man who had taken his dog for a walk in Ladywood on August 5.

“The girl went missing on April 13, 2019. Initial information revealed that the grandmother left her at home while she went to attend a funeral. On her return from the funeral, she discovered that the girl was gone,” he said.

“A search party was established by the Kwanokuthula police, which was conducted over a period of time, but with no positive outcome. Later the search was scaled down and eventually called off.”

Pojie said an inquest docket had been opened after the discovery in Ladywood.

“As the investigation unfolded, DNA samples were obtained from the mother of the victim which later, during private analysis, proved to be a match to the DNA sample retrieved from the skeleton of the missing girl.”

The docket was changed to murder after it emerged that foul play could have been involved.

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