THE three men appearing in court today (11/03/2016) for the murder of Cape Town teenager Franziska Blöchliger will also face charges or rape‚ robbery and theft of a cellphone.
Franziska‚ 16‚ from Muizenberg‚ was jogging in Tokai forest on Monday afternoon when she was killed. Her iPhone‚ watch‚ headset and diamond ring were among items stolen from her.
Tokai murder timeline
Monday 7 March, 2016 at 3pm: Shireen Blöchliger and her daughter Franziska go to the Tokai forest so Franziska can have a run before they fetch her younger sister Sofia from the nearby bus stop. The “half circuit” usually takes about 25 minutes. They have the family dog‚ a golden retriever‚ with them but Franziska prefers to run without it because it will slow her down.
3.30pm: Shireen is concerned that Franziska is not back yet. She thinks she may have done the full circuit but is worried about being late to fetch her other daughter from the bus stop. She calls her husband Florian to tell him she is worried. Florian says he will drive out from the family’s home in Muizenberg to the forest to look for Franziska‚ while Shireen goes to the bus stop.
3.40pm: Florian arrives and drives around the forest route a few times‚ shouting for Franziska. His wife and younger daughter return from the bus stop and join in. They then call police.
3.50pm: Florian receives phone call from his daughter’s iPhone while driving through the forest on his scooter. He hears nothing on the other end except for a “screaming child”. His father calls him and tells him that the same has happened to him.
4pm: The Tokai community mobilises a search party.
4.15pm: Florian and Shireen are told by a police councillor that the body of their daughter has been found on the edge of a path close to the road. They are not shown their daughter’s body‚ which was apparently brutally beaten. It is believed she was strangled.
Tuesday 6pm: A mass silent memorial is held in Tokai forest and hundreds of people from the community‚ as well as family and friends‚ walk through the forest in mourning.
9pm: Police track Franziska’s phone to Westlake. Later that night three suspects are detained.