Man held for multiple stabbing of neighbour’s daughter, 4

‘Post-mortem is still to be conducted to determine if she had been raped or not’

A 23-YEAR-OLD man was in police custody after being arrested in connection with the murder of a 4-year-old girl in Zamdela, Sasolburg, Free State police said yesterday.

Police say Thembi Mkhombeni’s body was found in a field near a cattle kraal on Saturday.

“The deceased’s mother left her sleeping with her three siblings aged 7, 8 and 11 in the main house while she was in the shack with her friends.

‘‘The mother alleges that she heard someone kick open the kitchen door, but did not think much of it.

‘‘On Sunday morning when she went to check on the children she found that Thembi was missing,” police said.

The mother was later alerted by her neighbours that her child’s body was lying in a nearby field.

“The deceased’s tiny body had multiple stab wounds and the post-mortem is still to be conducted to determine if she had been raped or not.”

Police suspect she was abducted from her bed before being killed.

Police have arrested a neighbour for the murder.

He is expected to appear in the Sasolburg Magistrate’s Court today.

SA Police Service cluster commander for Zamdela PJ Morake applauded community members for co-operating with officers which had led to the arrest of the suspect within 24 hours of finding the body.

At the same time he urged them to not take the law into their own hands but trust the criminal justice system.

“Without the help of the community, ruthless criminals will stay in the comfort of their homes.

‘‘We should not let any criminal be comfortable in our communities.

‘‘They need to be behind bars so we can prevent senseless killings like this of little Thembi,” said Morake.