TZANEEN – THE Bolobedu magistrate’s court on Monday denied bail to a man accused of killing his girlfriend’s nine-year-old daughter in Medingen village last month.
Mohale David Maenetja (24), who appeared on charges of housebreaking, kidnapping and murder, was remanded in police custody until May 19 pending further investigations in other unrelated cases.
Tzaneen cluster police spokesperson, Lt Col Moatshe Ngoepe, said the victim, Ria Letsoalo, was kidnapped while she and her seven year-old brother were asleep at home on the night of March 6.
“Their mother who was away attending a funeral returned home the following day. She found the house had been broken into and that Ria was missing. She alerted the police and a search by police K9 Unit, crime prevention and detectives started,” Ngoepe said.
Maenetja was arrested last Friday along the Modjadjiskloof – Polokwane road, allegedly trying to flee to Gauteng. Ngoepe said he led the police to an isolated area in the bushes just outside the village where the victim’s body was found in a shallow grave.
Preliminary investigations found that Maenetja was wanted for another murder, two assaults, theft, and two housebreakings in the Bolobedu area.
