/ 14 August 2006

Man jailed for killing, eating child

A KwaZulu-Natal man was jailed for 18 years for killing a three-year-old girl and eating parts of her body, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Monday.

Eric Delani Chala (29) was sentenced by the high court sitting at Ramsgate on the South Coast.

He killed the child on a farm in the Harding area in July last year. He had been asked to watch over her and her sibling but attacked them with a bush knife.

One child escaped.

Chala caught the three-year-old, killed her, roasted and ate some of her flesh, then cut up her body and stored the pieces in a mealie bag.

After his arrest, Chala was assessed by psychiatrists and found fit to stand trial and not mentally disturbed. — Sapa