Lavender Hill family allegedly stored brain tissue after shooting scene was cleared

A grieving family in Lavender Hill allegedly collected and stored brain tissue from a fatal shooting victim in a domestic refrigerator after police left the scene without retrieving all the remains. ActionSA Cape Town mayoral candidate and MP Dereleen James said authorities recovered the tissue on Monday afternoon after she intervened. She described the incident as a failure to properly secure and clear the scene, responsibilities involving the SAPS Criminal Record Centre and Forensic Pathology Services. James said she did not request official chain-of-custody logs because she lacks investigative authority, and that her intervention was intended to expose a systemic breakdown that further traumatized the family.