Fifteen-year-old Nobantu Zani, better known to friends and family as Mandy, was originally from South Africa, but fled to England with her family in 1990 after her anti-apartheid activist father, Thamsaqa ‘Thami’ ka Mnyele, was murdered by security forces in 1985.
Despite her tragic background, Mandy was a bubbly, outgoing teenager who attended Buttershaw Upper School and spent a lot of time hanging out with friends at cafés and other establishments in Bradford and Manningham, West Yorkshire. She was evidently also a bit rebellious, and often argued with her mother and skipped her classes.
On September 9th, 1995, Mandy left home to stay with friends after having another falling out with her mother. On September 16th, Mandy attended a party in Manningham, and the other attendees didn’t notice anything amiss. However, after she left the party, she completely vanished.
Mandy’s mother, believing her daughter was still staying with her friends, was concerned but didn’t report Mandy missing to the police.
Two weeks later, on September 30th, the girl’s partially decomposed remains were discovered under some hastily tossed branches at Druid’s Altar, St Ives, Bingley. Her chiffon scarf was wrapped around her throat, leading authorities to first hypothesize that she’d been strangled.
The coroner, though, was unable to determine the exact cause of death due to the state of decomposition. While he conceded that strangulation was likely, he noted that she could have also died from an accidental or deliberate head injury, or even from alcohol poisoning. Due to these other two causes of death not being ruled out, the coroner was obligated to return an open verdict.
In spite of the verdict, Mandy’s death is still being investigated as a homicide, but sadly, there has been no progress on the case, and it remains unsolved, nearly three decades later.
Crime Immemorial 