A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a four-year-old boy, believed to be his stepson, in Hertzogville, Free State.

The provincial police spokesperson, Lt Col Thabo Covane, said the man was taken into custody on Monday after preliminary investigations pointed to him as a suspect.

Covane said members of the South African Police Service (Saps) attended a crime scene on Monday morning at Old Cemetery in Malebogo, a township area located adjacent to Hertzogville.

“According to reports, the body of a child with bad injuries to the head was found wrapped in blankets and curtains. Local Criminal Record Centre experts based in Welkom were summoned to process the scene.”

A murder case docket was opened at Hertzogville police station after the lifeless body was discovered.

Covane added that preliminary investigations revealed the victim’s identity and linked his stepfather to the gruesome crime.

“Preliminary investigations started, and the victim was identified as a 4-year-old boy from Malebogo. The address was visited, and the bloodstained parts of the blankets and curtains, as well as clothing that is presumed to belong to the deceased boy, were discovered.”

The man is set to make his first appearance in Hertzogville Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 11 August 2026, on a charge of murder.

The town of Hertzogville is not unfamiliar with news of stepfathers being arrested for alleged murders.

In a separate incident, a 42-year-old stepfather was arrested on 1 August for murder and one count of attempted murder.

Police in the area responded to a call where they found a 21-year-old man lying unresponsive in a pool of blood, and a woman had sustained injuries to the head amid a domestic dispute.

“Police confiscated the knife alleged to be used in the commission of the crime and booked it in as evidence. The male suspect was subsequently arrested.”