BY NOKWANDA DLAMINI (INTERN)
BIG BEND- Rapid investigations by the Royal Eswatini police have brought relief to a grieving Ncandweni family after officers arrested and charged a 39-year-old man in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old girl whose death had initially appeared to be suicide.
The breakthrough came after police pursued detailed investigations and ordered an autopsy examination that uncovered evidence pointing to foul play, ultimately leading to the suspect’s arrest. Community members have since praised investigators for their efforts in ensuring the teenager’s death did not go unnoticed or unresolved.
According to information gathered during investigations, the suspect was employed by the victim’s family as a gardener and was someone the family had trusted and supported. Reports indicate that the family had recently allegedly assisted him with bail after he had been convicted of stealing an angle grinder.
Police alleged that the suspect attempted to sexually assault the teenager inside an outside toilet structure while her mother was away from home. Investigators say the girl allegedly resisted and threatened to inform her mother upon her return, after which the suspect allegedly became violent and suffocated her to death.
Authorities further alleged that the suspect then attempted to stage the scene to resemble suicide by hanging. A lihiya was reportedly wrapped around the teenager’s neck and tied to the rafters inside the pit latrine.
The heartbreaking discovery was made after the victim’s mother returned home from town and noticed her daughter was missing. She reportedly asked the other children to search for their sibling before the teenager’s body was found inside the toilet structure. Police were immediately alerted.
When officers arrived at the scene, the suspect allegedly claimed he had been trying to help after finding the girl hanging. However, police opened an enquiry file and ordered a post-mortem examination. The autopsy findings later ruled out hanging as the cause of death and confirmed that the teenager had died from smothering.
Following further investigations, police arrested the suspect and reportedly obtained confessions linked to the crime. He was expected to appear before the Big Bend Magistrates Court today.
Residents say the arrest has restored hope in the justice system while highlighting the importance of thorough police investigations in protecting vulnerable members of society.
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(Courtesy Pic)
