Police arrested a 60-year-old ex-convict on a charge of murder after the body of his six-year-old stepdaughter was found in a dam in Block GG in Shoshanguve north of Pretoria.
According to a statement, the little girl was reported missing on Sunday, but a police spokesperson said investigators “quickly established” that the suspect was behind her disappearance.
He was arrested on Monday after pointing out the place where he had “allegedly dumped the body of the child”.
Police said their preliminary investigations suggest that the girl’s disappearance and eventual murder occurred after the suspect had a fight with his 22-year-old girlfriend, who is the mother of the victim.
The spokesperson said while it appeared from the visible injuries that she had been strangled, a post mortem will determine the exact cause of death.
Police said the suspect had previously spent 25 years behind bars for the murder of his ex-wife and her lover.
He will appear in court on Friday.
