Bokgabo’s father Irvin Ndlovu told SowetanLIVE on Sunday the family was called by the forensic team on Saturday to identify the body.
''We went to the mortuary and we managed to identify her. The birthmark on her chest and her missing tooth lost while playing helped us to identify her,’’ said Ndlovu.
He said the family was devastated by her death.
‘’We are heartbroken and going through a lot of trauma right now. We did not expect that the body police found on Tuesday would be our child,'' he said.
On Friday he was still hoping for her safe return, saying in a post on Facebook: “My little girl ... I can hear you crying from a million miles away — calling Mommy, calling Daddy, and we are not there to save you.
“I want you to come back home. I miss you.”
The man suspected to be behind the child's kidnapping was nabbed on Friday.
"[He] was arrested in Rondebult, Boksburg North. It is reported that a member of the community saw the suspect in Boksburg North and called the police who responded swiftly and arrested the suspect,” said Masondo.
It was alleged Bokgabo had been playing with a five-year-old boy at the Masoleng Park in the township. The park is near her home. The two were reportedly approached by the suspect, who gave the boy money to buy sweets at a nearby tuck shop while he remained with Bokgabo.
The little boy returned to find the two gone.
CCTV footage taken from a house near the park showed the suspect walking off with Bokgabo. In the video, the youngster was seen frolicking next to the fast-walking man.
“Judging from the footage, she seems to be familiar with the person she is walking with,” said Ndlovu when police were still searching for the man.
“You can see her walking, jumping up and down. She was comfortable walking with the person which makes us think that it could be someone she knows very well,” he said.
Little Bokgabo Poo's suspected killer to appear in court on Monday
'We are heartbroken,' says dad who prayed she would be found alive
Image: Gallo Images/ IStock
A 30-year-old suspect is expected to appear in the Benoni magistrate's court on Monday in connection with the kidnapping and murder of four-year-old Bokgabo Poo.
The little girl from Wattville in Ekurhuleni was reported missing on Monday. Police were joined by the community in the search for the man who was last seen with Bokgabo.
Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said on Tuesday a leg of a child was discovered in a shallow grave inside a yard of a house in Tamboville.
Later in the afternoon, a mutilated body was discovered a few metres from the house. At that time, the parents of Bokgabo could not identify the body as that of the missing girl.
“A case of murder was opened and a team consisting of seasoned police officers from the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit, forensic experts, occult related crimes unit and local detectives was formed to prioritise and investigate the case.
“On Friday, the suspect was arrested in Boksburg North. On Saturday, the family of Bokgabo positively identified the body as that of their missing daughter,” said Masondo.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela commended the police team and community members for working around the clock to find the missing child and for the collection of evidence that led to the arrest of the suspect.
Mawela conveyed condolences to the family of Bokgabo Poo.
Image: Supplied
Bokgabo’s father Irvin Ndlovu told SowetanLIVE on Sunday the family was called by the forensic team on Saturday to identify the body.
''We went to the mortuary and we managed to identify her. The birthmark on her chest and her missing tooth lost while playing helped us to identify her,’’ said Ndlovu.
He said the family was devastated by her death.
‘’We are heartbroken and going through a lot of trauma right now. We did not expect that the body police found on Tuesday would be our child,'' he said.
On Friday he was still hoping for her safe return, saying in a post on Facebook: “My little girl ... I can hear you crying from a million miles away — calling Mommy, calling Daddy, and we are not there to save you.
“I want you to come back home. I miss you.”
The man suspected to be behind the child's kidnapping was nabbed on Friday.
"[He] was arrested in Rondebult, Boksburg North. It is reported that a member of the community saw the suspect in Boksburg North and called the police who responded swiftly and arrested the suspect,” said Masondo.
It was alleged Bokgabo had been playing with a five-year-old boy at the Masoleng Park in the township. The park is near her home. The two were reportedly approached by the suspect, who gave the boy money to buy sweets at a nearby tuck shop while he remained with Bokgabo.
The little boy returned to find the two gone.
CCTV footage taken from a house near the park showed the suspect walking off with Bokgabo. In the video, the youngster was seen frolicking next to the fast-walking man.
“Judging from the footage, she seems to be familiar with the person she is walking with,” said Ndlovu when police were still searching for the man.
“You can see her walking, jumping up and down. She was comfortable walking with the person which makes us think that it could be someone she knows very well,” he said.
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