Staff Reporter
A 13-year-old girl from Bultfontein has been found dead after she left home to visit her grandmother who lives just a few hundred meters from her home.
According to Free State police, the teenager’s body was found last Thursday next to the R708 highway near Phahameng in the small farming town.
It is believed the girl left home the previous day to visit her grandmother who stays about 400 meters away.
“It is currently not clear whether she arrived at grandmother’s house or not,” read part of a police statement released on Monday.
“Her mother allegedly went out to search for her but could not succeed.
“She reported the matter to the police on the next day, Thursday, 13 August.
“Sadly, she was later called about a girl who was found murdered and happened to be her young daughter.”
The body was discovered by a member of the community.
According to the police, the victim was found with her hands and legs fastened with a wire which seemed to have been used to strangle her.
“She also had some blood stains on her face. It is not clear whether she was raped or not at this stage,” the police said.
“A postmortem will be conducted to find out the cause of death as well as confirmation if she was raped or not. The suspects are still at large.”
Recent crime statistics indicate that sexual offences in the Free State were up 8.4 percent after 3 746 cases were reported between April 2019 and March 2020 compared to 3 457 during the 2018/19 period.
There was an 11 percent increase in rape cases from 2 646 in 2018/19 to 2 936 last year.
However the first quarter crime statistics released last week for the period April 1 to June 30, 2020 indicate that sexual offences in the province fell by 40 percent from 818 to 491.
This drop in crime has been attributed to limited movements by people due to the national lockdown as the country was under levels five, four and three during the first quarter.
Increased police visibility and the ban on alcohol sales are also said to have helped reduce crime.