Vigil today for slain Charnelle, 10

LATER today, after two suspects are expected to make their first court appearance for the murder of Charnelle McCrawl, a vigil will be held in honour of her life.

On Monday, it was confirmed that the suspects would be appearing today.

A police source confirmed traces of human blood were also found in a wheelie bin in Audrey Court in Manenberg.

According to reports, CCTV footage aided in the successful arrests of the men who were seen using a wheelie bin allegedly to dump Charnelle’s body.

“A sniffer dog was brought in for evidence collection and it was confirmed there was human blood in the bin. Following a check of the backyard dwelling, there were also traces of human blood found in the house,” the source said.

Police spokesperson André Traut said the two suspects would appear on murder charges in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court today.

Traut said four suspects were initially questioned, but two were released, as they could not be linked to the crime.

“Detectives worked around the clock gathering physical forensic clues, which has prompted the arrest of the suspects.”

Two men, 32 and 34, have been charged and are due in court.

“The 29- and 41-year-old males have been released as they cannot be linked to the crime,” said Traut.

The McCrawl home was cordoned off as a crime scene on Monday while a police forensic team collected evidence, including blood splatters in a backyard dwelling.

The 10-year-old went missing last Thursday and her body was found on the Vygies kraal riverbank on Friday.

According to information obtained by the Cape Times, Charnelle didn’t attend school on Thursday.

When she did not return from her after-school programme that day, she was reported missing.

On Friday, her grandmother made the gruesome discovery.