Bonteheuwel is in shock after the body of a 12-year-old boy was found hanging from a concrete fence pole near Netreg train station last Friday.
The death of Nathaniel Davids, whose body was found by police on Friday March 24, has sparked rumours that he was murdered and did not commit suicide.
Nathaniel, a Grade 5 pupil at Bramble Way Primary School, was last seen at about 2pm, when he went to the shop. Just 40 minutes later, police on patrol found his body.
His mother, Louise Davids, is among those who believe he was murdered. Although Ms Davids did not see her son’s body when she arrived on the scene, she is adamant his hands and feet were tied.
Police, however, dispute this. Bishop Lavis SAPS spokeswoman Captain Marie Louw said: “His hands and feet were not tied up, as speculated on social media. A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death. An inquest docket was opened and the investigation continues.”
Bishop Lavis Community Police Forum chairman Graham Lindhorst said the community suspected foul play; there were rumours that the American gang had killed the child.
“The community is extremely traumatised and very angry. They are looking for answers.
“We have asked SAPS to investigate this allegation as soon as possible, so that we can give the community the right information,” he said.
Differing accounts of how Nathaniel had met his death had also aggravated the family’s pain.
“They are just looking for the truth and are in mourning for their young son. Quite a lot of people say his hands and feet were tied. SAPS will eventually come out with that result as well,” he said.
“If it was in fact a gang-related death, then we need to seriously assess our community because if they have hit this low, then we really have a problem.”
The rumours around the case also prompted a response from provincial police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel André Traut who said he wanted to “dispel the speculations” surrounding Nathaniel’s death.
“We deem it in the interest of the community to place it on record that his hands were not tied when his body was discovered. An interim post-mortem ruled out foul play at this stage. However, we will continue to investigate all aspects surrounding Nathaniel’s death, as well as the aspects leading up to the incident. A death inquest case docket has been registered for this purpose.
“The death of a person, and in particular a child, is a traumatic experience for the family and friends of the deceased, and we would like to encourage the community to avoid spreading unfounded information, which often aggravates the situation unnecessarily.”
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
