Evidence cuts through lies of Tazne van Wyk’s killer, who was on parole

The high court in Cape Town has convicted the parolee who was arrested for kidnapping, raping and killing eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk in 2020.

Acting judge Alan Maher found Moyhdian Pangkaeker, 57, guilty of the string of charges on Wednesday.

Tazne’s murder is among the most gruesome child violation crimes in SA’s history. After raping and killing her, Pangkaeker also violated her corpse by sawing off her left hand.

Tazne's murder shone the spotlight on the scrutiny of parolees before release.

Pangkaeker was a parolee who had been released after serving half of a 10-year sentence for culpable homicide and kidnapping at the time he killed Tazne.

He had absconded from correctional service authorities a year before Tazne's murder.

Pangkaeker denied the charges despite him being caught on CCTV travelling with the young girl and evidence of how he had lied to a motorist about where he was taking Tazne.

Tazne had lived in a wooden bungalow in the front of premises occupied by Pangkaeker’s acquaintance when she disappeared from a tuck shop in Elsies River, Cape Town, on February 7 2020.

She had lived there with her parents, Terence Manuel and Carmen van Wyk, and two siblings.

A witness testified that she had seen Pangkaeker at the local shop about 2pm and he had asked Tazne her name.

A search for Tazne had started by 5pm that day.

Pangkaeker admitted to his sister that he had seen Tazne when she “received a ‘drinky’ from the shop and was standing in the road before his sudden departure” from the area.

“On [that] afternoon, out of the blue, [Pangkaeker] informed his brother-in-law that he was leaving for work in Durban. This explanation was false because, on his own admission, no-one offered him work in Durban and his actions showed he had no intention of travelling to Durban,” court papers read.  

“On the afternoon, [Pangkaeker] was seen by his minor nephew ... with the deceased near the Halaal Fisheries shop, walking in the direction of the Cravenby Hall”.

According to court papers, he was also seen by two witnesses boarding a taxi going towards Parow station.  As the search for Tazne intensified on the evening of her disappearance  he was seen with her in Worcester.

“Later that evening, [Pangkaeker] and [Tazne] were seen exiting a truck near a picnic spot on the N1 highway at Worcester and walking in the direction of De Doorns,” the court papers read. 

This place is about 100km away from Cape Town where Tazne had been taken. 

“[Pangkaeker] explained to the occupants of a white BMW that he and [Tazne] were on their way to Beaufort West where Tazne's mother lived.  [Pangkaeker] and [Tazne] were inside the vehicle at 23h39 when they parked under the shaded carport at Bersig Motors outside Worcester on the N1 highway. [Pangkaeker] was reluctant to enter the buildings at the Bergsig fuel station to ask for a lift to Beaufort West, because there were CCTV cameras. The two left the white BMW from Noble (23h49) and the deceased was last seen alive exiting the fuel station driveway in the direction of Laingsburg (23h50).”

CCTV cameras at the fuel station showed Pangkaeker wearing a small backpack on his back and a longish black duffel bag under his left arm which he adjusted as he walked out of the picture on the CCTV footage. Tazne was dressed in an adult jacket with a whitish round imprint on the back and sandals. She carried a five-litre container with a bit of fluid. Pangkaeker told that court that it was water.

“It was common cause that Tazne van Wyk, after a community search, was not found in Connaught Estate on the night of 7-8 February 2020. Her mother filed a missing person’s report the Friday evening, stating that she had an operation scar on her left hand.”

On February 8 2020, Pangkaeker’s brother-in-law called him and asked “where is the child” but he denied having “the child”. The brother-in-law phoned again and asked that the accused bring back the child. 

The court said it was striking that Pangkaeker did not ask which child he was referring to. 

His brother-in-law took the police to an address he knew but Pangkaeker was not found there.

The court heard that Pangkaeker then travelled to the Free State and Northern Cape. When his sister called him about Tazne, he gave her contradictory statements.

He was arrested in Cradock a few days later after police lured him to a hotel.

“He was arrested late the evening of February 17 2020 at Cradock and was in possession of a black Hurley-branded duffel bag with clothing and a backpack,” the court papers read.

“Inside the duffel bag [he] had numerous personal items which included two pairs of cream pants. The pair of Oakridge-branded pants were torn at the back and the knee areas had dirty marks. The accused spontaneously testified that the pants he had in his possession were not torn as seen in the photographs.”

Pangkaeker did not tell the police what had happened to Tazne when he was arrested.  

“Late on the evening of February 17 2020, after his incarceration at the Bellville police cells, [he] pointed out to the police the area where to search for the body of the deceased. This was on the N1 highway only a few hundred metres away from Bersig Motors” the court papers read.

After searching the area, police found “a decomposing body of a child in a drainpipe running under the N1 highway which is fed by a cement drain for stormwater. In the cement drain, there were dry bushes, refuse papers, empty plastic bottles as well as a sandal.

“The entrance to the cement pipe was blocked by a dry bush which was obviously removed to take the deceased out of the drain. She was pulled on to a plastic sheet, and it was noted that her left hand was missing,” the court papers read.

“[Tazne] was lying on her back on a broken-up carton box and piece of carpet with many maggots feeding on the remains ...  A second blue sandal was lying near the head of the deceased. A subsequent investigation by the police about fingerprint and DNA identification confirmed that the body was that of Tazne Carley van Wyk.”

Tazne was still dressed in her jumpsuit when her body was removed for a post-mortem examination, the court head.

“The postmortem revealed the after in terms of her general conclusion that [death was caused by]  a combination of trauma to the head, neck and chest,” the papers read.

“The deceased had injuries sub-scalp haemorrhage over the parieto-occipital aspects bilaterally. The sub-scalp haemorrhage was dense and pronounced on the right and extended to the occipital region. The haemorrhage was more on the right side of the head to the back.”

A forensic expert told the court that Tazne’s skeleton bore signs of trauma.

“There is blunt force trauma to the head which is found on both sides of the skull. However, it appears clearer on the right side. These are diastatic skull fractures and are clearly visible from the internal and external surfaces of the bones, especially along the squamous sutures.

. “The tendons in the wrist area were clearly cut off with a sharp object and can be seen in the remaining edges.”

The postmortem showed that Tazne had been raped. It also found that “the removal of the hand and wrist were done with a straight cut and not with surgical precision”.

“The forensic DNA investigation revealed that DNA (skin cells) of the accused were found under the nails of the deceased,” the court papers read.

The prosecution poked holes in Pangkaeker’s testimony, dismissing it as “false evidence”. He had claimed that he and Tazne had been kidnapped.

“It is submitted that evidence of the accused relating to this charge was not only false, but also in his fabrication of evidence, he could not consistently remember day to day what he said,” the court papers read.

“It is improbable that a young girl would have ventured away from her home environment where she lived without the involvement of [Pangkaeker].”

Tazne was described as a friendly child who attended church and did not leave her home at night.

“It is submitted that [Pangkaeker] fled to Bloemfontein, Colesberg and eventually Port Elizabeth because he was on the run from the police for the kidnapping but also to avoid having to explain where the deceased had scratched him when she fought him” the court papers read.

“It is submitted that the accused had no plan to turn himself in to the police and in all probability would have kept on the run had it not been for the pragmatic plan of the police to catch him.”

“It is submitted that the explanation of the accused given in court for holding company with the deceased does not add up,” the court papers read.

“It is submitted that the only reasonable conclusion for the presence of the DNA of the deceased under the nails of the deceased was that she resisted him when he raped and attacked her. It is submitted that it is highly probable that the presence of skin cells of the accused under the nails of the deceased can be attributed to a violent encounter when the deceased resisted the accused raping her.

“It is submitted that the denial of the accused on more than one occasion that the child was seen with him affected his credibility negatively. His denial of any knowledge of being with a child in conversations with his sister ... demonstrated how easily he lied,” the court papers read.

“It is submitted that when the accused saw the deceased alone drinking a cool drink at the mobile shop of Tesfey, he set a plan in motion to lure her away with a false story or promise.”

Tazne's attack is just one of Pangkaeker's many alleged crimes. He faces about 20 charges relating to violent crimes against women in various cities including Johannesburg, East London and Gqeberha. 

One of his victims is alleged to be related to him.

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