Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)

Serial killer suspect may hold answers to unsolved cases

- CARYN DOLLEY

A SUSPECTED serial killer and rapist, being questioned about the bodies of six women found near the Century City station, may hold the answers to a number of murders and missing person cases around Cape Town.

And at least one family is hoping the suspect, arrested in Gugulethu late on Wednesday and expected to make his first court appearance on Monday, will be able to shed light on what happened to a relative who went missing in September.

Fears that a serial killer was operating in Cape Town started mounting after the bodies of the six women were discovered between the Century City and Acacia Park stations, land owned by Transnet, over a 10-month period from February.

The latest body was found on December 19.

All the bodies have been those of women of the same race, and apparently within the same age group.

The possibilit­y that a serial killer was behind the killings made national headlines, and also made news in the UK.

While police never confirmed the killings were the work of a serial killer, police spokesman Andre Traut this week said a suspect was arrested in Gugulethu late on Wednesday, and was being questioned about “multiple murder and rape cases perpetrate­d in the Peninsula during recent months”.

The suspect was set to appear in court on Monday, but yesterday provincial police commission­er Arno Lamoer said a specific court had not yet been decided on.

This was because the crimes were committed in different areas.

Yesterday Lamoer was not able to tell Weekend Argus how many charges the suspect would face, saying these would be put to him at a later stage. “Multiple murders are being investigat­ed,” he confirmed.

On a Facebook forum, residents of Kensington who live close to where the bodies were found started calling on authoritie­s to not allow the suspect to be released on bail.

Yesterday a relative of Anathi Mali, 21, from the East- ern Cape, who went missing after meeting a man at the Philippi train station before heading to Century City on September 16, said her family hoped the suspect would have informatio­n on what happened to her.

“Maybe he can confess,” said the relative, who declined to be named as she did not want to possibly hamper the investigat­ion into her missing family member.

She said her family were still trying to get any informatio­n on what may have happened to Mali.

The discoverie­s of the bodies had intensifie­d fears among residents living nearby, and some started monitoring the area after dark, and walking from work in groups at night.

These actions continued this week.

About a week ago fears escalated again when human bones were discovered in a shallow grave in Maitland Cemetery, close to where the other bodies were found.

But this week police said no crime was suspected. An inquest docket was opened and police were investigat­ing.

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