“The little boy was found dead with head injuries, bruises on the left of his body … cigarette burns on his private parts and on his back,” police spokesperson Captain Pelonomi Makau was quoted as saying by The Times today.

“Post mortem results showed that the child had a clot on his brain.”

The boy was buried 20km from his hometown in Brits.

The couple handed themselves over to the police at the Hartbeespoort police station after the funeral yesterday.

“I do not want to talk about something I have nothing to do with,” the mother (25) told The Times.

She and the boy’s stepfather (29) were expected to appear in court on charges of child abuse and murder.