Three men linked to the murder and rape of a four-year-old girl in Mhluzi near Middelburg appeared in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, Mpumalanga police said on Wednesday.
Superintendent Abie Khoabane said the case of the three suspects aged 27, 20 and 17 was postponed to August 21 for a bail application.
The three were arrested at the weekend after they were linked to the murder of the little girl, whose naked boy was found in the veld on July 21. She had been raped and murdered.
She was taken from her parents’ bedroom when asleep.
Khoabane said the girl was left with her grandmother who was asleep in another room, while the girl slept in her parents’ bedroom. The front door was not locked as the grandmother was expecting the parents to return from a night out.
One suspect was arrested soon after the incident but charges were withdrawn against him due to lack of evidence. He was rearrested after the arrest of the other two. — Sapa