Eden Park killing: Nine-year-old girl allegedly stabbed by tuckshop owners

A 16-year-old boy, a woman, and another man, who run a local tuckshop in Eden Park, Gauteng, have been taken into custody after a missing nine-year-old girl’s body was found in one of their homes.

The Eden Park community have reacted angrily to the latest act of gender based violence (GBV) to take place in the country, and police have urged them to remain calm after the older suspect’s wife was allegedly attacked and injured. 

Girl reported missing on 10 November  

The girl’s mother said that her daughter had been sent to the tuckshop at around 7:00 on Tuesday 10 November, but that she didn’t return. Police were notified that she was missing later that afternoon and urgently deployed search teams. 

South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said that the 16-year-old tuckshop employee “could not provide satisfactory answers” after being questioned about the whereabouts of the missing child.

“This, is when the search was extended to his room where the body of the nine-year-old girl was found with a stab wound to the upper body, wrapped in plastic.”

The minor suspect and the 36-year-old tuckshop owner were subsequently both arrested and it was found that the latter suspect was in possession of a fraudulent RSA identity document (ID).

Eden Park suspects slapped with host of charges  

Peters said that the two male suspects appeared briefly in the Palm Ridge Magistrate Court on 12 November 2020, with the third suspect, a woman, appearing in absentia. The three have been charged with kidnapping, murder, and contravention of the Immigration Act.

“In the meantime, police have since warned the community to refrain from acts of mob justice after the 27-year-old wife of the older suspect was allegedly attacked and injured by community members just after the arrests,” he said. 

“Police were able to rescue the woman who was then transported to a nearby hospital for medical attention.”