Michaela Booysen: What we know about the slain Mossel Bay teen

The crucial 48-hour period has come and gone and investigators have yet to make any strides in the murder of Michaela Booysen.

Michaela Booysen: What’s the latest?

Mossel Bay police are still in search of clues in identifying the suspects responsible for bludgeoning Michaela Booysen with a pickaxe handle.

So far, all we know for certain is that Michaela Booysen was on her way home with her boyfriend, at around 2:00 on Sunday morning, when she was attacked by an unknown group of suspects.

Preliminary checks confirmed that Michaela Booysen died instantly after sustaining a fatal blow to her head. When police arrived at the scene, neither the boyfriend nor her pair of Nike sneakers, were there.

Investigators have not yet confirmed whether or not the boyfriend has been considered a person of interest in the case.

There has been speculation making rounds in the Garden Route town that Michaela Booysen was not the target of the attack, but the boyfriend who is suspected to be involved in gang culture.

The motive is still something that has yet to be established, however, it is believed that Michaela Booysen may have been left to die in the hands of the boyfriend’s gang rivals.

What we know about the slain Mossel Bay teen

Coincidentally, Michaela Booysen was, at one time, a pupil at Hillcrest Secondary School, where Khuselo Ndanda, a 16-year-old learner that was stabbed to death by three fellow pupils, a day after she was killed.

According to the school’s principal (mind you, he was the one who held Ndanda as he was bleeding to death), Ivan Kronenberg, Booysen led a troubled life.

He revealed that she had quit school in the second-term due to her battle with drug abuse. While it is believed that the teen was also involved in gangs, in some capacity, Kronenberg explained that her tragic past is something she could not escape from.

The details around her past are a bit sketchy but what we know for certain is that her mother died in a violent manner a few years ago and she may have witnessed it.

Michaela Booysen (18), who was killed over the weekend, was also a pupil at the school. The principal says she quit in the second term due to drug abuse and a tragic past. A few years back she witnessed her mother being hacked to death with a panga by her father#sabcnews

— Sphiwe Hobasi (@MrCow_man) October 8, 2019

The school is expected to host a memorial service for Ndanda and Booysen on Thursday.