More than four months after crucial forensic and toxicology samples were sent overseas, the family of nine-year-old Chantel Crump is still waiting to learn what caused her death.
The samples were shipped abroad in April after local pathologists were unable to determine how she died. An initial autopsy, conducted on 4 April, was ruled inconclusive. It found no evidence of strangulation, drowning, visible injuries or sexual assault. Weeks later, additional samples were sent for advanced toxicology and other specialist testing, but no results have been shared.
Chantel’s father says he has received no new information from police and plans to visit authorities on Thursday in search of answers.
The case has gripped the nation since 12 March, when Chantel was reportedly abducted just seconds from her Grace Farm home. Her body was found more than two days later in bushes at Weather Hills. Police allege that 20-year-old Angela Mahia led them to the site. Majia, who has been charged with murder, has appeared in court twice, each time wearing a bulletproof vest amid heightened public anger.
Chantel, a Grade Four pupil at Five Islands Primary School, was buried on 10 June. But her death — and the unanswered questions surrounding it — continue to weigh heavily on her family and the wider community.
Police say the investigation remains a top priority and have urged the public to remain calm, promising to share updates when they become available. Until then, the cause of Chantel’s death remains a mystery.