Uncle charged for killing niece, hiding her body under bed

A mother made the grisly discovery of her 15-year-old daughter’s decomposing body under a bed, in a case for which the girl’s uncle has now been charged.

The 37-year-old appeared in the Delmas District Court on Wednesday after he was arrested following the discovery of the teenager’s body on 26 February. He remains in custody and will appear again next week.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said the girl was last seen by her family on 21 February. She was reported missing at the Delmas police station four days later.

“The family became worried as the victim had never been away from home for a long period without contacting them,” he said, adding that the family began asking around but found no sign of the girl.

“After an extensive search was conducted, a family member realised that there was a foul smell in the house. They ignored the smell because the house had not been cleaned for a while as the mother was hospitalised,” said Hlathi.

The girl’s mother started cleaning the house and found her daughter’s partly decomposed body under the bed.

Manhunt

“Strangely, the girl’s uncle, who used to stay with them, was nowhere to be found since the girl’s disappearance. A manhunt was conducted, and the uncle was found in a squatter camp in Delmas and was taken in for questioning by the police,” Hlathi said.

The police have established that the uncle was also wanted for an incident in which he allegedly raped and stabbed a young girl in 2007.

“Details of that case indicated that after [allegedly] stabbing the girl, the suspect covered her with blankets. Luckily, the girl survived the ordeal. The suspect is yet to be charged for the 2007 case.

“It was further uncovered that there was a warrant of arrest for the suspect for an outstanding case which occurred in 2006 after he was found in possession of suspected stolen property,” said Hlathi.

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