‘We are doing our best to ensure that we finalise this case as soon as possible,’ say police
The police investigating the October 2023 murder of a Makhanda woman say they are doing their best to ensure they finalise the case as soon as possible and are waiting for the results of DNA laboratory tests that could provide important additional evidence. The police say they fully understand the concerns of community members in Ghost Town, Makhanda, who have called for justice for Myrodine May.
This week marks four months since May’s hacked and beaten body was discovered buried in a shallow grave, 300 metres from her Ghost Town, Makhanda, home. No arrests have been made as yet and friends and relatives say they don’t understand why.
The sheer brutality of the assault, evident from the state of Myrodine’s mangled body, will forever haunt her relative, who identified her at the mortuary.
The relative, who asked not to be identified, gave a detailed description of the shocking injuries that showed Myrodine had been subjected to a level of violence that is hard to believe. Speaking in Afrikaans, the relative said, “The way her body was when they found her, she must have experienced the most terrible pain that you can imagine before she died.”
Talk of the Town was speaking just under a month ago to distraught and frustrated residents of Ghost Town and nearby Sun City informal settlement, who said they couldn’t understand why people whom they had handed over to the police on the day Myrodine’s body was found were still walking free in the community. They said “everyone” knew who the young woman had been with in the hours before she was brutally assaulted and buried in a shallow grave.
Friends recounted the days leading up to the terrible discovery.
Children had been sent to fetch Myrodine on the day she disappeared from her home. Because they were used to her being out and about, the family weren’t worried when she didn’t return home that day.
But her aunt, Lorinda May, said when one day became two, then three, they raised the alarm and on October 11 they filed a missing person report.
“The police were here with dogs,” Lorinda said, pointing across the road and towards the hillside opposite. “First they found Myro’s clothes…” she said, sobbing uncontrollably while she comforted Myrodine’s now orphaned toddler.
The relative who had identified Myrodine’s body took over.
“It’s the first time we have seen something like this. Only someone who has lost their humanity can do something like this.
“You know, we grew up together – we laughed and joked together – we never imagined something like this would happen.”
Myrodine’s friends said they wanted answers. They said “everyone” knew who Myrodine had been with before she went missing and the community had handed them over to the police, the same day her body was found.
“Why are they still walking around?” they asked in the January 21 interview.
“Everybody loved Myro, and she loved people. She didn’t deserve to die like this. We want justice for Myro.”
Talk of the Town sent queries to the South African Police Service about the case. In a response received on 2 February, spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said the police investigation was at an advanced stage. Detectives had questioned several people and were awaiting forensic reports for possible linkages.
This week (Tuesday February 13) Nkohli said the police were still waiting for laboratory results to confirm DNA links with possible suspects.
Like fingerprints, DNA is unique to each human being. For this reason it is an important and powerful tool in successfully investigating a crime and seeing a case through to prosecution and a possible conviction.
“We understand the gravity of this situation, and the concerns from the residents,” Nkohli said earlier this month. “We are doing our best to ensure that we finalise this case as soon as possible.”
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Talkofthetown.co.za – https://www.talkofthetown.co.za/2024/02/13/community-calls-for-justice-for-murdered-makhanda-woman/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=community-calls-for-justice-for-murdered-makhanda-woman
