The man accused of murdering three-year-old Reiger Park toddler Cuburné van Wyk was found guilty as charged on Thursday morning.
Nathaniel “Chicken” Mpoku‚ who testified in his defence‚ presented a version of events the court said cannot be true.
Judge George Maluleke made the ruling on Thursday morning at the South Gauteng High Court‚ sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court in Katlehong‚ southeast of Johannesburg.
Mpoku‚ 27‚ faced charges of kidnapping and murder. He had pleaded not guilty to both.
But Mpoku virtually admitted to the kidnapping‚ and in this case the kidnapping and murder were part of the same continuous crime‚ Maluleke said.
The defence called no other witnesses.
Last week‚ a 16-year-old boy‚ who by order of the court cannot be named as he is a minor‚ testified that Mpoku was the last person he had seen with Van Wyk on the afternoon of August 6 last year when the child disappeared.
Mpoku was seen giving Van Wyk biscuits at a soccer field in Reiger Park’s Ramaphosa Informal Settlement.
The child’s burnt body was found at a mine dump in the area three days later.
He had been strangled and burnt to death by his killer. — TMG Courts and Law
Reiger Park toddler’s killer found guilty
The man accused of murdering three-year-old Reiger Park toddler Cuburné van Wyk was found guilty as charged on Thursday morning.
Nathaniel “Chicken” Mpoku‚ who testified in his defence‚ presented a version of events the court said cannot be true.
Judge George Maluleke made the ruling on Thursday morning at the South Gauteng High Court‚ sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court in Katlehong‚ southeast of Johannesburg.
Mpoku‚ 27‚ faced charges of kidnapping and murder. He had pleaded not guilty to both.
But Mpoku virtually admitted to the kidnapping‚ and in this case the kidnapping and murder were part of the same continuous crime‚ Maluleke said.
The defence called no other witnesses.
Last week‚ a 16-year-old boy‚ who by order of the court cannot be named as he is a minor‚ testified that Mpoku was the last person he had seen with Van Wyk on the afternoon of August 6 last year when the child disappeared.
Mpoku was seen giving Van Wyk biscuits at a soccer field in Reiger Park’s Ramaphosa Informal Settlement.
The child’s burnt body was found at a mine dump in the area three days later.
He had been strangled and burnt to death by his killer. — TMG Courts and Law