A grim discovery in Ottery, Cape Town, has left residents and authorities baffled. The charred remains of an unidentified person were found smouldering in a veldjie along De Wet Road on Friday afternoon, sparking widespread speculation and a police investigation.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed the incident, stating that Grassy Park SAPS opened an inquest following the discovery of the burned body at approximately 3pm on Friday. He reported: “A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the race, gender, age and cause of death.” Crucially, Captain van Wyk confirmed that the deceased remains unidentified.
The circumstances surrounding the death are shrouded in mystery. A local resident, who requested anonymity, recounted the conflicting rumours circulating within the community. They said: “Nobody knows who the person is or who did this, but on Friday we heard so many stories. First, they said it was a woman who was on fire and apparently the people who saw a fire on the veldjie didn’t think anything of it because they thought someone was burning copper. It was only afterwards they saw it was a body and everyone kept saying it was a woman. Some people say it happened during Jumuah time, but others say it happened in the morning already and was only found after people left mosque.” The conflicting accounts highlight the lack of clarity surrounding the incident's timing and the identity of the victim.
Charmaine Arendse of the Grassy Park Community Policing Forum (CPF) confirmed their attendance at the crime scene, but added that they too were unable to glean any further information. Arendse stated: “We attended the scene but there was no information on who the person was or what led up to this. The CPF is calling on anyone with information to come forward to police.”
The lack of information has left the community in a state of uncertainty. While rumours abound, no concrete details have emerged regarding the victim's identity or the events leading up to their death. The police investigation is ongoing, and a post-mortem examination is expected to provide crucial information about the cause of death and the victim's identity.
In the meantime, authorities are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111. The hope is that public assistance will help shed light on this disturbing and mysterious incident.
