Missing 10-Year-Old Girl's Body Found Under Her Mother's Ex-Boyfriend's Bed, Rape Suspected

A 10-year-old girl, who went missing from her school in South Africa last week, was found strangled to death inside a shack where her mother's ex-boyfriend lived.

The shocking discovery was made Monday in the Potchefstroom city, The South African reported. The body of the child, identified as Kamogelo, was kept hidden under the man's bed. It was found four days after the child went missing.

The man, whose identity has been withheld, was charged with murder, a statement by the South African Police Service said. He will be produced before the court Wednesday.

The statement added the accused arrived at the child's school last Thursday and picked the girl from there. The last anyone saw of the child was with the man, inside the primary school premises.

However, the suspect was supposed to attend a court hearing the same day on a charge of attempted murder for an alleged incident reported in June 2021. The man apparently failed to appear in court and a bench warrant was issued for him.

When the child did not return home after school, the mother reported her missing. Further investigation revealed the girl was kidnapped by the accused, after which a search was launched for the duo.

"On Sunday, 7 November 2021 at about 14:00, the suspect was traced at Zakhele informal settlement in Ikageng. He was immediately arrested, but could not give the police a full account of what happened to the girl," added the police statement.

The next morning, the officers arrived at the suspect's shack. A search revealed the lifeless body of Kamogelo hidden under the bed. The statement added the child was likely strangled to death.

"The possibility that the deceased might have been raped cannot be ruled out and is under investigation," the police statement said.

A similar case was reported from South Africa in July wherein a 35-year-old man allegedly beat his stepdaughter to death and put her to bed to make it look like she was asleep. According to the police, the stepfather then called the child's mother the next day to inform her that the kid was not doing well. The mother, on finding that the girl was dead, alerted the officers. Neighbors too reportedly heard the girl screaming, but didn't pay much attention.