The Press
January 30 2007

Police welcome co-operation in girl's death inquiry
by Mike Steere

Revelations 10-year-old girl Charlene Makaza was sexually assaulted before her death have brought "understanding and co-operation" from the Zimbabwean community in the homicide inquiry, police say.

Charlene died on January 7 from suspected suffocation.

This month, police said that Charlene was "violently sexually assaulted" before her death.

Their public statement was made to quell speculation that she may have died of natural causes.

Homicide inquiry head Detective Inspector Malcolm Johnston said people who believed the death may have been natural were making the investigation "very difficult".

"We want to make it very, very clear to those people that that is not the case and we need their co-operation," he said.

Johnston yesterday said that since the announcement, some of those people were being more helpful.

"We have had better levels of understanding and co-operation from people since the (press) conference," he said.

Johnston said there were still no specific suspects in the case.

The investigation has centred on Charlene's family members -- her aunt, uncle, two cousins and 12-year-old sister -- who were at their Bryndwr home when she sustained her injuries.

The family returned to their home last week after staying elsewhere for several days until after Charlene's funeral.

Police had found no evidence of an intruder entering the house, but were refusing to rule it out.

Results from toxicology and DNA tests are still several weeks away.