Five years after 17-year-old Carly Isaacs – an altar girl for her church, was mysteriously murdered inside her home while her father was asleep, it has become acold case, with the family seeking answers while crime fighters call for a review of evidence and for witnesses to come forward.

On Monday, queries to provincial police were not answered following an indication that the docket was being referred for an inquest in 2023.

The DNA portion of the investigation has since been completed.

Isaacs was attending a church service with her mother and sister on March 15, 2020, and had returned home around 9:15am to change clothes and to collect her robe for the second service when she was violently attacked inside her Westridge, Mitchell’s Plain, home.

Her father, Alistair Isaacs, was asleep after completing a shift as a meter driver and told police he had not heard any noises or screams.

Later, he would wake to find Carly deceased inside the house, with her altar robe neatly placed onto the table.

Carly had been stabbed to death.

Carly's parents, Alistair and Anthea Isaacs, told the Cape Argus the case had gone cold with no new information from police and they had been promised a commitment by the station commander to inquire what had happened with the matter.

Anthea said she was waiting for feedback from station management.

“There hasn't been any new developments so far. My mom went to an Indaba a few weeks ago and spoke to the station commander of Mitchell's Plain police station,” she said.

“He gave us his number to make an appointment to see him as no one has said anything or come to see us with any information in two years.

“The last we heard was that the case is at court and would now be treated as a cold case as no new developments have been found.”

Alistair, who previously told the media that a buccal swab had been taken from him by the police and that he had been treated as their prime suspect, called on them to catch the killer instead of focusing on him and said there was no news about the case.

“No developments or feedback as of last time we spoke, everyone is quiet,” he said yesterday.

Anti-crime activist Lynn Phillips of the Cape Flats Safety Forum said a fresh review of evidence was needed to determine who the suspect was.

“As the CFSF we once again astonished to note that five years down the line and yet no suspects were found,” she said.

“We feel that somehow, somewhere the police need to start seeking some evidence from scratch that could lead to the successful identification of alleged suspects.

“We also urge any witness in the neighbourhood who has any information to come forward in order for the family to get closure as it is traumatising for many families when cases are cold cases.

“When the alleged suspects are eventually caught the wound gets opened again and they have to relive the trauma.

“I feel forensics needs to also do everything in their power to seek for evidence they collected at the crime scene.”

Cape Argus

mystery

Five years on: Mitchell's Plain family demands answers in altar girl's murder