The body of a missing Khayelitsha teenager was discovered hours after a suspect was allegedly found with her wig in his home.
Sinovuyo Magatya, 18, disappeared after a night out with her friends last Sunday.
Her family had heard that she left a shebeen with the 30-year-old suspect but when they went to confront him, he denied it and initially told them that she had left with a man from Makhaza, says her uncle Wele Dyongo.
“He even took us to those guys, at the time we thought he was trying to help us find her.
“We had no idea that he had already killed her.
“The police went to his place after Sinovuyo’s belongings were found there last Monday. It was her cellphone which was by his door.
“But the police told us not to confront him and on Thursday morning when he came from a night shift, the police went to him and cuffed him.”
With the suspect handcuffed and on his knees, the police searched his shack and found blood splatters under his bed and also on a towel, says Wele.
Hours later, the girl’s body was found in an abandoned shack that had also belonged to the suspect.
Wele said she had a wound behind the ear and marks on the neck, indicating she may have been strangled.
“He also tried to dig a hole under his bed, maybe he wanted to bury her there.
“But then the body was found in an abandoned shack behind his home.
“I was at work when I received a call and I was told that the body was found.”
The uncle says Sinovuyo’s pants was pulled down: “I suspect that he raped her. Her hands show that she was trying to defend herself from whatever weapon he used.”
After the shocking discovery, residents destroyed both the suspect’s shacks.
“People are very angry about what happened and what is worse is that he knew Sinovuyo since she was a baby and he had the audacity to rape and murder her.
“As the family, we want his family to finish what he started. He took her life and now they must bury our child in the Eastern Cape.”
Police spokeperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi says they are investigating a murder charge: “Be advised that after the body of a woman was found, a 30-year-old male was arrested and detained.
“The kidnapping case will now be change to murder. Once charged, he will appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court on a charge of murder. The matter is under investigation.”