The Delft community has been left reeling after the bodies of a child and an unidentified man were discovered in the area this week.
On Wednesday afternoon, police responded to a disturbing discovery on an open field in Renoster Street, Leiden. A mutilated and burned body of a 12-year-old boy was found. He had reportedly gone missing the night before.
According to SAPS spokesperson, Captain Frederick Van Wyk, the circumstances surrounding the boy’s murder are under investigation, with the motive currently unknown. Police have yet to make any arrests, and authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.
Jacky Ockhuizen, Public Relations Officer and leader of the Delft Community Policing Forum (CPF), expressed the community’s horror at this brutal crime.
“He was brutally killed somewhere else and [dumped] on this field next to the church in Leiden.”
Ockhuizen says one individual has been questioned, but no significant leads have been reported as yet.
In light of this incident, Ockhuizen called for greater police visibility and resources to address the rising violence in the area.
In another shocking incident, the decomposing body of a man was found near the premises of a local primary school in The Hague. Ockhuizen says the body was discovered in a ditch near the school fence.
It is suspected that the man had been lying there for several days. Ockhuizen believes that this death may be gang-related, though the exact cause is still under investigation.
No arrests have been made as yet, but Delft police are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.
“Delft police registered an inquest for investigation following the discovery of the body of a 28 year old male on Thursday. A post mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death,” said police spokesperson, Anelisiwe Manyana.
