Bloody body found in bathroom

2003-08-04 22:13

Dries Liebenberg

Durban - The gruesome and baffling murder of a primary school pupil, who was beaten to death in his parents' home in St Lucia, has shocked residents of the KwaZulu-Natal town.

Daniel van Rooyen found the body of his stepson, Daniel Opperman, 13, in the shower at 21:00 on Saturday evening. The boy had arrived home about three hours before to finish his homework.

Van Rooyen found blood in the family's garage and followed the trail of blood to the bathroom, said Captain Musa Khaba for police.

Daniel had a gaping wound behind his right ear and a wound above his right eye. His skull was cracked and police suspect that he had been attacked with a panga.

There was no sign of the murder weapon and the attacker did not take anything from the house.

"If it was a burglary, one would expect the house to be empty as the criminals had all the time in the world," Khaba said.

He said there was no sign of a struggle. It seems as if Daniel was beaten to death in the garage and then carried to the bathroom.

- Beeld