Couple arrested after 5-year-old boy's body found at their tavern

Police arrested a couple in Orange Farm south of Johannesburg on Thursday after the lifeless body of a five-year-old boy was found in their tavern.

Police spokesperson Capt Kay Makhubele confirmed that the couple, aged 29 and 30, were the owners of the establishment where the body was found.

Makhubele said that on Tuesday April 14 at about 5pm, the grandmother of a five-year-old boy reported him missing to the Orange Farm police.

“Then on April 15 2020 at about 10pm it was reported that a body of a five-year-old boy was discovered at a house in Extension 4, Orange Farm, inside a tavern,” said Makhubele.

When police arrived they made a gruesome discovery.

The body was “in an upright position, naked next to a fridge”. The boy had “string tied around his neck and a handkerchief tied around his ankle”, Makhubele said.

The police opened a case of murder, and the couple are expected to appear in court soon.