UPDATE: ‘We have failed this little girl’ (watch video of the mother)

Mom and siblings inconsolable

Dereleen James comforting a weeping Samantha, mother of the murdered little girl.

Four-year-olds are normally inquisitive, playful and very friendly children.

Shaynice Talla was just such a child. Described by her mother, Samantha Talla as a very beautiful child, she went missing at 4 pm yesterday afternoon.

When the family realised that the precocious Shaynice was missing, they immediately mounted efforts to find the missing pre-schooler.

In their growing panic, they went to the Eldorado Park Station to report her disappearance

According to Extension Two residents, police were uncooperative and informed them of the 24-hour waiting period before a person could be reported as missing.

Their growing desperation to find Shaynice led to the Local Drug Action Committee becoming involved in the search.

According to LDAC member, Fagmeda Edries, “My throat closed up when we found her.”

Edries said that the four-year-old’s body was discovered in an open drain not far from the family home.

Makeshift seats near the site where her body was found are an indication that the spot provides cover for drug-users who consume drugs away from prying eyes.

One man was arrested in connection with the heinous crime and police had to urge residents who were baying for his blood, to remain calm and let justice take its course.

A visibly distraught Dereleen James visited the family and said, “We have failed this little girl. All of us have failed because we did not create a safe environment for her to play in.”

The Talla family are angry and grief-stricken at the gut-wrenching loss of such a young life under circumstances which defy belief and Shaynice’s mother and siblings were visibly distraught at having to bury their sister as they wept inconsolably.

The Local Drug Action Committee (LDAC) is raising funds to help the family with funeral arrangements and the community have come out in force to denounce this horrific crime.

Cluster Commander of the Soweto East Cluster, brigadier Edwin Mollegai could not be reached for comment.

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