Neighbour who killed six-year-old Stacey Adams gets four life terms

A man who murdered a six-year-old girl in Cape Town was handed four life sentences on Thursday.

Christopher Brown, 25, who murdered Stacey Adams in June 2018, was also convicted of murdering his former girlfriend, Thulisa Lavisa, in Khayelitsha in 2015.

His sentences in Stacey's case were for two counts of rape, murder and assault.

Brown was arrested after Stacey’s body was found in a shallow grave behind the Wendy house where he lived in Mitchells Plain, a day after she disappeared.

The grave was in full view of the porch of the Adams family home in Eastridge, and the little girl’s family had known Brown since he was a child.

The community reacted to the find by petrol-bombing Brown’s family home while police were inside conducting a search for Stacey.

Police used rubber bullets to disperse residents and escorted Brown away in an armoured Nyala.

The investigating officer in the case, Sgt Randall Davids, was awarded a certificate of recognition on Thursday by Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula.

Speaking at the ceremony, Jula reiterated the importance of handling reports of missing persons with the urgency required.

"In a province where crimes against women and children are so prevalent, every minute matters. No complainant must be turned away from a police station," he said.

"Communities are also urged to report missing persons immediately."