Baby eaten to death by rats

Police in Johannesburg have been called in to investigate after a baby was killed and partially devoured by rats.

The six-month-old infant was found in a shack in Diepsloot this weekend lying atop a mound of bloodied blankets. The child’s mother had reported the baby’s death to the police in the early hours of Sunday morning and said the cause of death had been a rat attack. Officers attended the scene to find the mother, a known drunk, had fled and couldn’t be traced. The baby’s body had been badly mutilated by rats gnawing off its arm, a foot, and one eye. The injuries to the child were so severe that members of the community where the child was found are convinced the death is the result of ritualistic murder, police even started a murder investigation but have paused the operation after a pathologist confirmed the baby was killed by rodents.

The mother of the baby is still unaccounted for, family members told local press that the mother was a bit of a drinker and the baby had been left unattended whilst she went out on the pop Saturday evening.