Body-in-pool mystery deepens

2003-05-29 08:41

Vera Schoeman

Port Elizabeth - The mystery surrounding the death of Keith Alexander, 4, of Port Elizabeth, has deepened after after a post-mortem found he was already dead before his body was flung into the pool at his parent's home.

The district surgeon found Keith had died 24 hours before his parents found his body in the pool. He had gone missing 76 hours before his body was found.

No one knows where he was since Saturday afternoon, when he went missing, to Monday evening, when his body was found floating in the pool in his parents' garden.

Captain Johan Christians of Gelvandale charge office said the preliminary post-mortem results indicated there was no water in Keith's lungs.

He said that, contrary to a statement on Wednesday, Keith didn't drown.

His grieving parents, Tim and René Alexander, are also convinced he hadn't drowned. He fell into a swimming pool about two years ago and had been so scared of water since then that he cried when he had to take a bath.

His mother said: "He would never have gone to the pool on his own. He never went closer than 5m from the edge."

After he went missing on Saturday afternoon, his parents searched the pool area. "He definitely was not in the pool", said his mother.

Shortly before a friend found the body floating in the pool about 21:30 on Wednesday, she was still standing at the edge, wondering where her son was and there was nothing in the water.

A vagrant who is suspected of being involved in Keith's disappearance, is still in custody.

Christians said: "He is the only key to the riddle, but he refuses to say anything more than he is sorry."

The second post-mortem was held on Wednesday to establish if Keith had been sexually molested.

Alexander says she is heartbroken by her son's death.

"The Lord had promised that he would bring back my son, but in my worst nightmare I didn't think it would be a dead child."

She is thankful, though, that the uncertainty has ended and now knows that he won't be cold or hungry or that he could be hurt. That was a great comfort, she said.

- Die Burger