CRIME SCENE: Malebogo, Free State: A four-year-old boy has been found brutally murdered at Old Cemetery, Malebogo on Monday 10, August 2026.

Malebgo is a township area next to Hertzogville near Welkom in the Free State.

The boy’s 24-year-old stepfather has in the meantime been arrested and will make his first appearance in Hertzogville Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 11 August 2026 on a charge of murder.

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS) the Hertzogville police attended to the crime scene at Old Cemetery on 10 August 2026, where the body of the child with severe injuries to the head was found wrapped in blankets and curtains. 

Local Criminal Record Center experts based in Welkom were summoned to process the scene.

A case docket of murder was opened at Hertzogville police station, and a preliminary investigation started. 

The police visited the boy’s home in Malebogo where they found bloodstained parts of the blankets and curtains, as well as clothing that is presumed to belong to the child.