Wealthy woman ran deadly scam
2008-07-21 07:30
Philip de Bruin
Johannesburg - The alleged head of a fraud and murder operation, in which 21 people were allegedly killed to get insurance money, is a wealthy woman who lives in an affluent part of Johannesburg.
Maryanne Dimba, 38, was arrested in her lavish home where three luxury cars, among them a Jaguar and a Mini Cooper, stood in the garages, a police source confirmed in Durban on Sunday.
It was revealed on Sunday that Dimba and her two co-accused, Sibusiso Buthelezi, 23, and Brenda Mdluli, 42, had allegedly murdered their victims in exceptionally cruel ways.
The victims were mostly homeless people and a few were prostitutes.
According to police information, all the victims were stabbed with a knife, at least 40 times. One victim had 72 stab wounds.
All three accused have appeared briefly in Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.
Disfigured by cars
A police spokesperson said: "These exceptionally cruel murders were probably to make 100% sure that the victims died, otherwise the whole fraud operation with the insurance money would fall flat."
After the murders, some of the victims were further disfigured by having their faces driven over by a car so that police could not compare their faces with photos in false identity documents that the alleged murderers had obtained beforehand.
The police are investigating the operation by which the syndicate - that presumably had help from within the Department of Home Affairs - obtained the false IDs and then took out life insurance (with themselves as beneficiaries) on the life of their "brother" or "sister".
After the murders, they would claim the insurance money.
An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated that Dimba lived in Dainfern. Reg Bernstein, general manager of Dainfern golf and residential estate, said: "Dainfern works closely with police and Fidelity security services to provide a safe environment for residents and ensure that any criminal activities are rapidly and successfully brought to an end."
- Beeld