The decomposed bodies of a teenage mother and her 15-month-old baby have been found in bushes near their home.
|||The badly decomposed bodies of a teenage mother and her baby have been found in bushes near their home.
Pretty Marshay Louw, 18, and her 15-month-old daughter Tatum went missing from their home almost a week ago.
They were last seen by their heartbroken family after Marshay said she was popping out to visit the local shop.
The remains of the young mom and her baby were found in bushes near their Atlantis home on Good Friday.
Hardened police officers were left shaken after seeing maggots feeding on their faces with clumps of hair and bloody clothing strewn across the grim scene.
Police have yet to determine the cause of death.
And detectives are now awaiting vital DNA results to help positively identify them.
But the Atlantis teen’s family say they are sure the bodies are those of Marshay and Tatum after identifying the mom by tattoos, clothing and hair.
The corpses were discovered in the evening by a man chopping wood in Extension 12 – some distance from the family’s home in Sherwood Park.
Marshay’s oldest sister, Zenobia Andrew, 30, visited the Salt River Mortuary and has described seeing their bodies as unbelievable.
“I still can’t believe it… how someone could do this to an innocent baby.
The people who did this deserve the same sentence – death.”
Zenobia said she had identified Marshay by her clothing and a tattoo of a marijuana leaf with the word “Smiley” around it on her leg.
“She was wearing a pink sweater with a black jacket which had grey on the cuffs,” says Zenobia.
“Her one leg, which had the dagga tattoo on it,was up in the air and she was naked below. There was no face, it was dark and worms were eating at it.
“Her baby lay next to her in a jumper and takkies… her face was gone and worms ate at it.”
On Monday, the outraged and shaken family, together with Ward Councillor Barbara Rass, spoke out about how police failed them.
They say no group searches, helicopters or sniffer dogs were called when Marshay disappeared at the end of last month.
Marshay’s mom Noleen Julies, 48, grew sick with worry when her daughter and grandchild did not come home on Saturday, March 31, after they went to a nearby shop.
They tried to report her missing but police told them to return 24 hours later.
“Marshay would never leave her child in a bush or anywhere,” explains Noleen.
“They were together in life and together in death.”
She said they searched the area with cops, but the distraught mother said she knew her daughter would never stay away from home without a nappy or food for her baby.
On the Monday, the family opened a missing person’s case at Atlantis Police Station and began distributing flyers.
Marshay’s sisters Zenobia, Nadia Albertyn, 28, and Tanneth Human, 22, began their own search and followed up on leads, even visiting drug houses with police.
“When we spoke to constables Petersen and Davids who were in charge of missing person’s the Tuesday, we asked them how they investigate from an office; they just showed us the other case files on their desk,” said Nadia.
“We were getting the leads and taking it to police.
“People said they saw her with this one and then that one and this one guy in particular named Sammy.
“But Sammy and his mother came to us the Friday before the bodies were found and he said he did not know Marshay and that he was with a girl who looked like her.”
Nadia said the family got frustrated after numerous friends were questioned and they realised police had not been thorough in their investigation.
Then news broke that two bodies were found.
Noleen said she realised it was her daughter when a policewoman spoke to her at the scene.
“She said it was a very hartseer (sad) scene and when I asked her about the baby, her eyes were full of tears and I knew it was my child,” she said.
Daily Voice