Suspected serial killer on the loose

MALALANE – A suspected serial rapist and killer is believed to be operating in the Onderberg following the discovery of three bodies in a sugar-cane field.

This became official when cane cutters found the third one, which was the second discovery in a week in less than a month, last Wednesday.

The second body which had been identified as Ms Promise Madonsela (29), was found on August 3 not far from the last discovery.

Madonsela was reported missing at Komatipoort Police Station after she had disappeared in June.

The last time she had contact with her family was when she had gone job hunting and was offered a lift to Mbombela.

The first victim was discovered on July 22.

According to the SAPS provincial commissioner, Lt Gen Mark Magadlela, all the bodies were found in an advanced state of decomposition complicating the identification process.

“They are all African females, the one who was found on August 3 was aged 29, as for the other two, we are still going to determine the ages through the pathologist and the post-mortem,” Magadlela explained.

He added that the victims’ clothing were found close to their bodies and police suspect that the motive was rape. “The main intention for the suspect is to rape, and then afterwards he kills for the purpose of hiding the bodies. As you can see they are hidden in the sugar-cane field and the time they are discovered is during the harvesting time.”

Suffocation appeared to be the way he killed his victims. According to Magadlela no arrests had yet been made, however, a special unit had been tasked to investigate. “When the first body was recovered, we set up a task team of detectives who are actually following up on the matter in terms of investigating the serial killings.”

Since the news of the murders had become public, a wave of shock and fear has hit communities in the Onderberg. Magadlela has appealed to everyone to avoid taking lifts with strangers as they believe that the killer is using a vehicle. He especially urged women to be careful. “Surely there is someone targeting these young ladies who are looking for jobs.” He furthermore requested the community to assist the police by providing them with information that could lead to the apprehension of this killer.

“They must actually look for any suspicious people and try to get as much information as possible for us, because it is clear that this is happening within the communities around here. So we need residents to come out and assist the police in making sure that we stop this before it goes any further,” Magadlela concluded.