Little Tazne van Wyk was raped, bashed to death and her hand cut off the day after she went missing.
The search for the eight-year-old child went on for several days after she vanished in February.
But shocking court documents have revealed that she was already dead when her family expressed hope of finding her alive.
It was also revealed that her alleged killer Moehydien Pangaker, 54, is set to face 11 rape charges during Tazne’s murder trial at the Western Cape High Court next year.
There was a tense stand-off at Goodwood Magistrates’ Court on Monday as Pangaker came face-to-face with Tazne’s father Terence Manuel, 31, as the accused was informed he would be moved to Pollsmoor Prison.
The indictment was served on Pangaker, who stood in the dock with bandages around his hands.
He appeared kwaad when he was told he would be moved from Goodwood Prison where he has been held for several months.
Pangaker faces a total of 20 charges which include rape, murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice dating back to 2016.
In the first case against him, Pangaker is accused of raping a woman on a veldjie in Ladismith in 2016.
According to the indictment, during the period between 2016 and 2019, Pangaker also raped a minor girl.
He raped the child four times in Ladismith and also took her to a dam where he sexually assaulted her and raped her several more times.
In 2019, he allegedly tied the same child up in a house in Worcester and threatened to kill her if she reported him.
He has also been charged with incest for impregnating a relative.
Pangaker then made his way to the Cape Flats, asking relatives in Clare Street for a place to sleep.
On 7 February, he allegedly lured Tazne away from her home and took her to Parow train station.
The indictment says he drove with the child to Worcester and raped her along the N1 highway.
Tazne died as a result of blunt force trauma to her head, chest, neck and pelvic area and one of her hands were sawed off with an unknown object.
As court proceedings came to an end, a shocked Terence looked Pangaker straight in the eye, asking him: “Hoekom doen jy die dinge? Jy is ’n groot man.”
Pangaker attempted to answer the father but police officers led him away.
Tazne’s mom Carmen says she is “a bit relieved” that Pangaker is in jail, but was “at a loss for words” after reading the court documents.