The man accused of the murder and rape of 6-year-old Cape Town girl Stacey Adams abandoned his bail application in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate's Court on Thursday, opting to stay behind bars.
He may not be named yet as he has not pleaded to the rape charge.
When Stacy's body was discovered in June near his Wendy house in Eastridge, some residents torched the main house on the property while he was still inside being questioned by police.
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Police had to call in reinforcements to get him to the police station safely.
Wearing a black Nike hoodie and jeans, the slightly built man had a quick private consultation with his Legal Aid attorney while in the dock and signed a document.
"Do you confirm what was said by your legal representative? Do you abandon your bail application?" asked Magistrate Alwira Bezuidenhout.
"Yes," he said simply.
Accused suspected drug user
Stacy's body was found in a shallow grave on Sunday, June 24, near the Wendy house the suspect and her mother, Sasha-Lee, lived in across the road from her grandmother, Laeeqah Adams, in the suburb east of the Cape Town CBD.
She was last seen on Saturday, June 23, and people initially thought she had gone to a party in the area. Her body was found on the afternoon of the next day.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said after a visit to her family that he had been told that the man had been high on drugs, but this claim remains unclear.
READ: Stacey Adams, 6, laid to rest as her alleged murderer prepares for court
Some residents also alleged that the police had missed evidence after a large knife was found under the Wendy house, and was suspected by them to have been the murder weapon.
The man in the dock had been in a relationship with Stacey's mother.
Her grandmother and mother were among those present for the man's court appearance on Thursday but left quickly afterward.
"We are not doing okay," was all her grandmother would say before being overcome with emotion.
He will appear in court again on October 8.
Prosecutor Darrin Johnsone said the State already had the girl's post-mortem report.
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