Family of Rene-Tracy Roman fear the missing girl is dead after the body of a female was found hidden in a Wendy house in the street where they live.
Police say the as-yet-unidentified female’s hands and feet were tied and she was half naked.
“The age of the deceased is unknown at this stage,” police spokesman, Captain FC van Wyk, said.
Thirteen-year-old Rene went missing on Friday, March 10, when she went to a nearby shop.
The decomposing body was discovered early Tuesday morning after the female owner of the house in St Agatha Crescent, Montague Village, Lavender Hill, noticed a stench in her backyard coming from the Wendy house that was being used for storage.
The 58-year-old woman asked a man from the area to clean her yard, and that’s when he discovered the body in the hokkie, hidden under a carpet.
Colin Louw, 33, says he got the shock of his life when he found the remains.
“I opened the Wendy to start cleaning and when I lifted the mat, I saw the body. I told the aunty and left the house,” Colin explains.
“I just left, I didn’t even get my money for the job I did.”
Louw would not reveal any more details, such as the kind of clothing the female was wearing.
Rene was last seen wearing a pink sleeveless top, black tights and sloffies.
Anxious community members crowded in front of the house as police were inspecting the scene.
The teen’s stepfather, Mervyn Jacobs, said the family was not allowed to view the body, but fear it may be that of the Grade 6 learner from Levana Primary School.
“We weren’t allowed into the yard and we couldn’t see the body, but there might be a strong possibility that it is Rene,” he says.
“Police haven’t said anything so we don’t want to jump to our own conclusions,” he said.
“We do hope that it is not her. It’s been so long now, her mother Chrissandre is in a state. I don’t have words anymore. My hart is stukkend.”
According to neighbours, the owner of the house shared the premises with her daughter and boyfriend of two years.
A family member said the mat covering the body had gone missing last week and the woman could also not find the key to the Wendy house until Tuesday morning.
According to community members, police searched several houses in the street last week, but the boyfriend allegedly refused them entry and told cops to come back with a search warrant.
“When they got to that house, he didn’t want to allow police onto the premises, asking them for a warrant. He locked the property and just left the house,” a resident said.
They claimed the man borrowed money from a neighbour on Saturday and took a taxi “to go visit his family in Stellenbosch”.
The family member told the Daily Voice the boyfriend had been “taken in for questioning” but police say no arrests have been made yet.
Van Wyk says cops were called to the scene at 9.20am.
“When the members opened the bungalow, they found a partially decomposed body of an unknown female covered with a carpet,” he said.
“Her hands and feet were tied and she was half naked.
“A murder case was registered for investigation. No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
“A post-mortem will be conducted to determine cause of death and identity.”
Anyone with info about the murder is requested to contact Detective Sergeant Nazel Dlaminie of Steenberg SAPS at 084 312 4472 or Crime Stop at 0860 010 111.