“Why kill an innocent child?” This question, and the thought of what her daughter endured in the hours leading up to her murder, torments the mother of eight-year-old Veronique May.
Veronique, who went missing on Sunday afternoon, was found dead just metres from her home in KwaLanga, Kariega, on Monday.
A 27-year-old suspect, who is known to the family and others in the area, has been arrested.
On Tuesday, a distraught Destiny May told of her growing panic as they searched for her daughter on Sunday, which ended in grief and despair the next day when Veronique’s body was found in a room of a nearby property.
Police spokesperson Sandra Janse van Rensburg confirmed the arrest of the suspect.
“The young victim was reported missing by her family on Sunday at [the] Kamesh [police station] after 5pm.
“A search was immediately launched by police,” she said.
“Information was obtained about who Veronique May was last seen with on Sunday evening.
“[Kamesh police] found the man and, for his own safety, he was removed to the police station.”
Janse van Rensburg said after he was questioned, the suspect took the investigating officer to a property in De Booi Street, KwaLanga, where they found the little girl’s body in one of the rooms.
“The suspect was arrested on a charge of murder and will appear in the Kariega magistrate’s court on Wednesday.”
May said she was still struggling to comprehend that her daughter was dead.
“It’s not real,” she said, crying.
“I can’t understand how so many children grew up in front of this guy and how he [allegedly] could do this.
“I just want to know why he [allegedly] did it. What was the reason — he’s supposed to protect our children.
“What was he thinking?
“I just want an answer as to why he [allegedly] did it.
“What were my daughter’s last words?”
May said the suspect was also the father of a young girl.
“He also has a young baby.”
With tears running down her face, her voice laden with emotion, the anguished mother said: “What were the last words of my child and what did he say to her when he [allegedly] took her away?
“I just want him to tell us why because my daughter was an innocent child.”
May said she last saw her daughter between 1pm and 2pm on Sunday.
Hours later, May’s mother, Margaret, 51, came to tell her Veronique had gone missing.
“In those two hours, what was [the killer] doing to my child and why did he do it?” May said.
Margaret said a search was launched immediately after it was found that Veronique had gone missing.
“The guy [suspect] was lurking around close to where we were looking for Veronique and my boyfriend pointed to him and said, ‘look at this guy’.
“Myself, my boyfriend and my mother went searching for Koekoe [Veronique’s nickname] street by street and we didn’t see anyone but kept seeing this guy around us.
“Around 8pm, we went to him and asked him directly ‘where is the child’, and he said he knows nothing about the child.
“He was roughed up a bit and still said nothing. Eventually the police came and took him away.”
Margaret said the ordeal had made her feel ill.
“So now what we know is that she was killed and left in the room where she was found.”
Margaret said she last saw Veronique at about 5pm on Sunday playing in front of the house.
The family has known the suspect for almost two decades.
“He stays just here [in the area]. This is what makes this whole thing painful, because he knows the child and she grew up in front of him,” Margaret said.
“We’ve known him for more than 15 years, which is why we don’t understand why this happened.”
On Tuesday, members of the community marched to the house where the body of the James Ndulula Primary School grade two pupil was discovered.
KwaLanga community activist Busiswe Skapo said the residents were shocked by what had happened, especially as the suspect was known to them.
“Today, I decided to call the community because cases affecting residents here never go anywhere because we never take steps, come out or follow through.
“This time, we’re taking action,” Skapo said.
Nelson Mandela Bay police district commissioner Major-General Vuyisile Ncata said: “The murder of a child is one of the most heartless crimes imaginable.
“We will ensure that justice is served for this young victim and her family.”
The Herald
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