The Western Cape High Court has found Mohydian Pangaker guilty of mercilessly murdering Tazne Van Wyk and chopping off her hand to conceal evidence.
After delivering his three day judgement, Judge Alan Maher said the state relied on circumstantial evidence to prove that he kidnapped, raped, murdered and desecrated Tazne’s corpse by cutting off her hand.
Pangaker, 57, was thrust into the limelight in February 2020 as he was fingered as the man who snatched the eight-year-old meisie from her home in Ravensmead. Tazne was later found murdered and dumped in a stormwater drain in Worcester.
This year he went on trial for Tazne’s murder but shocking details emerged in court documents as the state charged him with multiple rapes of children in his own family as well as incest charges for fathering a child with his own daughter.
He said Pangaker’s claims that his DNA was found under her nails as he tried to save her from kidnappers was proven to be false when under cross examination he said his hands were tied behind his back.
“He clearly knew where she was and pointed out her body to the SAPS on the night of his arrest. The obvious conclusion is that he knew Tazne was dead because he was the killer.”
Maher described Pangaker’s version of events as “fantastical” and “implausible” saying it is likely he lured her into the taxi by claiming her mother was in Beaufort West.
“The only person that could have killed Tazne is the accused”.
Maher said Pangaker placed himself at the crime scene in his concocted story and he believed the reason Tazne was kidnapped was so he could rape her.
“The only purpose for kidnapping an eight-year-old girl is sexual gratification, the accused raped Tazne van Wyk.”
Pangaker now faces multiple life sentences on a total of 12 rape charges, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of sexual assault, and charges of grooming and sexually exploiting children.
During the trial shocking testimonies by young girls related to Pangaker were heard as he was found guilty of raping his own daughter, granddaughter and even trying to convince his niece to have sex with him for R200.
Maher said there were striking similarities in all the testimonies about how Pangaker carried out the sex attacks and the method he used to clean himself afterwards.