Cape Town – Johnny Baartman, the ex-husband of Desiree Baartman, led police to the location of her body on Tuesday night in Gqeberha, a report said on Thursday.
Johnny was arrested on Monday in connection with Desiree’s murder and stated in court that he would present his case there.
According to News24, police confirmed that Johnny guided them to the body, which was found in a storm-water drain near Stanford Road.
An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death, although insiders mentioned that Desiree’s face had been severely beaten, the report said.
Contrary to rumours, the police clarified that the body was not found in a bag, the report said.
“The postmortem report will be sent to the investigating officer and results will be made available to the family. The postmortem will determine the nature of injuries and cause of death. Depending on the investigation, in certain instances [the results] may be available to the public,” the report quoted police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu as saying.
ALSO READ | Missing Gqeberha woman found dead in stormwater drain
She added: “Ms Baartman was found dumped in the drain, not in a bag.”
Desiree had been missing since June 9.
The Eastern Cape police, along with the K9 Search and Rescue Unit and the Diving Unit, located her body 3.7 metres deep in a stormwater drain next to Standford Road near the Jagtersvlakte area on Tuesday night.
“At about 9pm on Tuesday night SAPS Betheldorp detectives with the assistance of the K9 Search and Rescue and Diving Unit recovered the victim’s body which was thrown down a 3.7 metre storm water drain,” Naidu said.
Johnny was initially arrested for attempted murder while she was still missing, but the charge has been upgraded to murder.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/@SAPoliceService
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
