Girl, 11, raped and murdered

2008-10-05 17:05

Johannesburg - An 11-year-old girl was found raped and murdered at her home in Onverwacht, north of Cullinan on Sunday, police said.

Superintendent Johannes Jaftha said the gruesome discovery was made by the stepfather of the girl, a man in his 30s, when he tried to wake her up at 07:00.

"The girl is suspected to have been strangled and raped on Saturday night as the body had several injury marks on the neck.

"Her stepfather told us that he did not see and hear anything because he was fast asleep and under the influence of alcohol," Jaftha said.

"The motive for the murder is not known at this stage and we are still gathering every piece of evidence that we are getting.

"But there was no sign of forced entry into the house and nothing appeared to have been stolen from it."

A case of murder was being investigated, he said.

- SAPA