Cape Town - The murder of two girls, one an infant
and the other a teenager, has sent shock waves through Hanover Park and Gugulethu.
Seventeen-year-old Jehaan Petersen’s body was discovered on an open field along Greenturf Road, Hanover Park, on Sunday after she had been reported missing two weeks ago.
On Friday, the mutilated body of a child was found dumped on an open field in Barcelona informal settlement, Gugulethu.
The suspects in both murders have yet to be arrested, police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said.
“The circumstances surrounding the death of a 17-year-old female whose body was discovered on an open field in Greenturf Road, Hanover Park, Sunday afternoon at about 3pm is under investigation.
“Philippi police were called to the crime scene where the victim was found with open wounds to her body and head.
The victim was declared dead on the scene by medical personnel. The motive for the attack is yet to be established,” said Twigg.
Petersen’s family could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Hanover Park ward councillor Antonio van der Rheede said the names of people of interest had been given to officers investigating the murder.
“The community is saddened by this incident. This is something we cannot tolerate, a young girl with bright future ahead being killed in this manner. The Law Enforcement Advancement Plan officers and the police found her body after they were alerted and we would like to applaud them for their quick response.
“I want to say to the young girls, that they must report anything they suspect to be harmful towards them so that it can be dealt with immediately,” said Van der Rheede.
In Gugulethu, resident Lusapho Ntlalo, who made the discovery of the body, estimated the child to be between 5 and 6 years old.
Police reported finding the child’s head, saying the victim was a baby.
“Gugulethu police opened an inquest following the discovery of the head of a baby in Barcelona informal settlement on Friday afternoon at about 12pm,” said Twigg.
Ntlalo said he first thought the body was a lump of mud because of its black and greyish colour.
“I was on my way to my older brother when I saw the body. At first, I thought it was mud because it was black and greyish in colour, but the closer I got, the smell became unbearable. I looked closely at it, only to find out it was the body of a child.
“I would estimate that the child was between the ages of 5 and 6. What shocked me was that the private parts were cut off, as was the head.
“I called people who live in the area and some community leaders. Most of the time people would find infants dumped in the area but this one is a grown child.”
Barcelona informal settlement community activist Zimasa Maqhina said residents had established a forum to monitor illegal dumping sites in the area.
“Two weeks ago an infant was also found at a dumping site almost rotten and had a funny smell.
“People are illegally dumping their waste at that site and as the leaders, we have condemned that many times but it seems like our voices are falling on deaf ears.
“It was for these reasons that we condemned this. We have established a group of people who will look after the site and those who illegally dump at the site.
“When you go to the site there are signs put up by the City that this is no dumping area but our people continue to dump,” said Maqhina.
Anyone with information can anonymously contact Crime Stop at 086 0010 111 or SMS Crime Line at 32211.
Cape Times