Mpumalanga police arrested a 25-year-old man inside a hospital where he was accompanying a teenage victim, a 17-year-old girl, who later died in the medical facility.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli said law enforcement agencies were alerted about an incident where a “badly assaulted” girl had been brought to hospital by her family members and a man who is her “friend”.
He said that when police arrived at the hospital they were led to a bed where a lifeless body of the teenage girl found.
She had sustained multiple injuries and an investigation led police to her male friend.
The male friend was arrested and is expected to appear in Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court, Mdhluli said.
Police said the motive behind the brutal attack is yet to be ascertained.
Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi has welcomed the arrest of the 25-year-old man.
Mkhwanazi also condemned the “senseless murder” of the teenage girl.
Last month, IOL reported that a 21-year-old man from Standerton in Mpumalanga appeared briefly before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court facing charges including murder.
Cuan Karelse is facing a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, as well as a charge of murder for killing a 57-year-old woman Renee Lea also from Standerton.
Gauteng spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Lumka Mahanjana said it is alleged that on a Saturday afternoon, Karelse slipped into Lea’s place of residence, where he robbed and murdered her.
“It is alleged that the accused tied her up, robbed her of her belongings, wrapped her with a carpet put her in the boot of her car and drove with her to Pretoria,” said Mahanjana.
When Lea’s daughter could not get hold of her mother on the phone, she called the vehicle tracker company to locate the car.
“The tracker company then located the car at a petrol station in Moreleta, Pretoria, while the accused (Karelse) was inside the shop. The petrol attendants identified the accused as the person who was driving the vehicle. The tracker company personnel then apprehended the accused when they opened the boot of the car,” said Mahanjana.
The body of the deceased woman was found in the car, with cables around her neck and mouth covered with tape.
IOL