Five men held after Muldersdrift killing
Memory card from cellphone found on suspects
IVE MEN – four Zimbabweans and a South African – have been arrested for the murder of 13-year-old Alyssa Botha and the attack on her father and sister in Muldersdrift.
Provincial spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale said three of the men were arrested at an informal settlement in Zwartkop on Tuesday night and the other two were cornered in Diepsloot.
They were allegedly also found with a memory card from a cellphone belonging to one of the girls.
On September 5, Alyssa, her father Anton and older sister Meghan arrived home when armed men, who suddenly appeared from the darkness,
Fattacked them.
The family live on a plot that has three houses. Anton, who was still in the car, had opened the boot for the girls to take out their school bags and sports gear when they were shot at.
The assailants are alleged to have shot at the family and fled, only to return to shoot at them again.
Anton, who was in the car at the time, was shot in the abdomen, as was Alyssa. Meghan was shot in the legs. Alyssa died at the scene.
At the time of the attack, the girls’ mother was standing at the door of their home.
The attackers are alleged to have made off with two cellphones and Anton’s empty wallet.
The Krugersdorp Crime Intelligence Unit and Muldersdrift detectives are said to have worked around the clock to find the suspects, and their efforts were praised by provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Mzwandile Petros.
The men have been charged with murder, armed robbery and possession of suspected stolen property, and were due to appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court today.
Family spokeswoman Lee Lerm said Anton had undergone major surgery on the day of the shooting but was doing better now.
Meghan was discharged two days ago and her wounds were healing well.
Lerm said the date of Alyssa’s funeral had not been decided yet as they were waiting for Anton’s condition to improve.
Residents in semi-rural Clinic Road have been experiencing a severe crime wave.