EASTERN CAPE: On Thursday, 8 August 2019, a 25- year-old man from Gelvandale was arrested for the alleged murder of a two-year-old boy and the alleged rape of the boy’s mother.
On Tuesday afternoon the two-year-old boy was taken to Livingstone Hospital to be treated for injuries he allegedly sustained after falling off the bed. While doctors were treating the boy, he died. As doctors were informing the man of the child’s death, he ran off. At the time, Gelvandale police opened an inquest docket and an extensive search began for the child’s parents or the man who brought him to hospital.
Several leads were followed up and on Thursday, 8 August 2019 investigations led police to Extension 5 in Gelvandale where they obtained information of the mother and her 25-year-old boyfriend.
On the same day, at about 13:00 SAPS Gelvandale members were patrolling Bethelsdorp Drive when they noticed a man holding a woman and she was allegedly crying. When the members stopped to question the couple, the woman informed the officers that she was on her way to Livingstone Hospital to enquire about her two-year-old boy. The members were aware of the death of the boy and they immediately notified the investigating officer.
While interviewing the mother of the boy, she informed the police that while she was on her way to the hospital, her boyfriend allegedly raped her in the bushes. The boyfriend also provided conflicting versions of what had happened to the boy. The case of the inquest was changed to murder and the 25-year-old boyfriend was detained for the murder of the child and rape of his mother.
He is expected to appear in the Port Elizabeth magistrate’s court on Monday 12 August 2019 on both charges.