Police searching for the killer of a girl, 8, believe they have nabbed the man behind a series of rapes and murders.
|||Durban - Police searching for the killer of an eight-year-old believe they have arrested a man responsible for a series of rapes and murders, in which he terrified families into keeping quiet.
After linking him to two other murders, police are appealing for victims to come forward as they build their case against a man they say is one of the most feared in the province.
The breakthrough came three months after eight-year-old uMlazi pupil Nonjabulo Sabelo’s body was found in bush near her school, Mzwilili Primary.
The suspect was also alleged to have raped other young girls and women, some of whom were reported to be pregnant, police said.
Most of the victims had been targeted at an informal settlement in M-section, uMlazi, where the suspect lives.
Police spokesman, Colonel Vincent Mdunge, said the 24-year-old alleged serial killer and rapist was arrested on Thursday night after crime intelligence officers acted on a tip-off.
The suspect, under heavy police guard at a Durban police station, was expected to appear in the uMlazi Magistrate’s Court on Monday on three charges each of murder and rape.
Said Mdunge: “He is probably the most feared man in KwaZulu-Natal. He has been an absolute nightmare for the community.”
Mdunge said many of the victims had been too terrified to lodge cases and many had fled Durban in fear for their lives.
“This suspect is fearless and extremely brazen. From our investigations we have found that he walks into homes and takes girls in full view of their families,” he said, adding that the families were threatened and terrorised.
He was known to carry a knife and two guns, Mdunge said.
“From the interviews we have conducted, it is shocking how this suspect has been operating. In some instances he had told the parents exactly what he wanted to do with their daughters – that he wanted them for sexual purposes.”
He said the man did not bother to camouflage his appearance or identity.
“During his crime escapades he did not wear a mask or even try to conceal who he was. It seems that he thought he was invincible.
“He tells his victims that if they open cases against him, he will kill them. He even told them about the victims he had killed,” Mdunge said.
“Fortunately someone in the community, fed-up with violent behaviour, came forward to police with details and a description of the suspect. Several suspects were profiled and we eventually narrowed the list down to him.”
Mdunge said the suspect was placed under surveillance for several days and he was eventually nabbed at his uMlazi home.
“For now he will be charged with three counts each of murder and rape. But we expect to link him to many, many more cases,” he said.
“Hopefully once he appears in court more rape victims will come forward.”
In March, Nonjabulo Sabelo’s body was found in a bush near the school in uMlazi’s D-section. The Grade 3 pupil, who had been raped and murdered, had disappeared on her way home from school.
Less than a week later, a second body was discovered dumped on the grounds of another uMlazi school.
Police at the time said the body of the 30-year-old had been found on the grounds of Isidingo Primary School in uMlazi’s J-section.
The body had multiple stab wounds and the woman’s stomach had been cut open, police had said.
The body of a third woman was found two weeks later, also on a sports field, at an M-section school, police had said.
A high-ranking police source said many serial killers and rapists did not take many precautions to hide their identity.
“They often lure their victims during the day and gain their trust in a short space of time. Serial killers and rapists don’t expect to get caught.”
He said the uMlazi case was highly unusual and that the suspect was “extremely brazen”.
“With these kinds of suspects the focus very quickly turns to killing. Once they take a life it is very difficult to turn back. Even the rape takes a back seat. In many cases the number of killings far exceed the rapes.”
Daily News