(Image source: xplorio)

More than a week after tenth-grader Deveney Nel was found dead in a storage room at her school, Hoërskool Overburg, in Caledon, police managed to arrest the suspected killer.

After extensive investigations, police made a breakthrough in the case and arrested a 17-year-old boy on Friday evening. Police spokeswoman Brig Novela Potelwa said the teenager was charged with murder and was expected to appear in the Caledon Magistrates Court on Monday, according to SowetanLive.

“Since the discovery of the student’s body, detectives specializing in serious violent crimes have been working intensively and pursuing several leads,” Potelwa said.

A normal Wednesday turned into a nightmare for the Nel family earlier this month when Deveney was unable to board the bus after the school’s netball and rugby teams finished their intense matches against Bredasdorp High School.

The 16-year-old girl, who lived in Grabouw, was reported missing by her mother Lida Nel after she failed to return home.

Image: Facebook/Hoërskool Overberg

Police discovered her lifeless body on school premises and had to close the school immediately on Thursday while investigations were launched. Parents were informed of the heartbreaking news late last Wednesday night.

Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile praised the police for the breakthrough in the case as the fight against crimes against women, children and other vulnerable people is intensified.

“We will spare no resources to catch the perpetrators. Gender-based violence and femicide are a priority for the South African police. We therefore welcome his arrest,” said Patekile.

However, Heinrich Wyngaard, chairman of the civic organisation Cape Forum, expressed concern about the way the crime scene was handled, according to The Citizen.

In a letter, Wyngaard listed one of the forum’s concerns as a senior officer from the Overberg District Command Unit apparently taking control of the crime scene before local police could investigate, and apparently despite the presence of the local station manager.

The letter also stated that the officer allegedly denied local emergency services access to the victim, which resulted in a delay in determining the victim’s death.

Anroux Marais, Minister of Police Supervision and Public Safety in the Western Cape, assured that the investigation was in the best hands.

“I realise that this is not the easiest thing to do, given the cruelty of the events, the great, honest and understandable shock in the community and especially in the family, and the need for law and justice.

“But right now it is important that the police are given freedom to do their work so that the perpetrators can be caught and successfully prosecuted.”

Headmaster Johan Jacobs confirmed that the school had taken additional security measures and that the department had also organized social workers and counselors for the students affected by this horror.

(Sources: sowetanlive&citzien)