Four-year-old Bokgabo Poo, who went missing in Wattville, Benoni last week, has been confirmed dead.
The little girl’s stepfather, Johannes Sibiye, who had lived with her since she was a baby, told News24 that police arrived at the family home on Saturday with a picture of the clothes she’d been wearing when she disappeared.
“The police came with a photo of the garment Bokgabo was wearing that day. They took us to Springs mortuary to identify the body.
“They took her grandmother and mother into the mortuary and they were able to positively identify her,” said Sibiye.
“It is exactly the same as Bokgabo. She is dead,” he said. “The family is not doing well, especially the mother. Knowing our daughter died a horrible death is heart-breaking.”
A day after Bokgabo disappeared, community members had discovered a mutilated body in Tamboville.
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Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said at the time that a 63-year-old woman had been sweeping her yard when she saw human toes sticking out of the ground.
He said a leg was found on the woman’s property and, about 800m away, a child’s body was discovered in a shallow grave in an open veld.
Masondo said a man had since been arrested in Boksburg North in connection with the abduction.
He added that police would issue a statement later on Sunday about the new developments.