Cops 'determined' to get killers
25/09/2007 09:45  - (SA)  

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5 nabbed in plantation killings Serial killer hotline set up 5th body found in cane field Cops mum on serial killer claim Dog 'had human head in mouth'

Stephanie Saville

Pietermaritzburg - Five men, including a 36-year-old man described as the "main suspect" have been arrested in connection with the murder of five women whose decomposing bodies were found abandoned in sugar cane fields in Umzinto on the south coast.

Following up information that at first led them on a wild goose chase up and down the coast, police conducted an early-morning swoop on a house in Chatsworth on Monday, where they found items belonging to the dead women.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Hechter said a combined force of detectives from the Organised Crime Unit in Port Shepstone and members from Durban police made the arrests.

The breakthrough came after the detectives followed up information that led them to Stanger and then to Port St Johns and back to Chatsworth.

The suspect was arrested in a house together with four other persons and certain items belonging to the deceased were found in their possession.

Task team 'determined'

"All five men will appear in an Umzinto court on Wednesday morning on charges of murder."

"The sheer determination of the task team, who worked day and night, ensured this breakthrough. Investigations are continuing to determine if there are any more victims involved," said Hechter.

Fears of a serial killer were raised after five women's bodies were found in the cane fields over a period of a week-and-a-half this month.

The first body was found on September 2. She had been reported missing on May 31, said Hechter.

The bodies were found in various stages of decomposition, after extensive searches by police sniffer dogs.

Police engaged a crack team of experts in the investigation, including pathologists and psychological crime profilers.

Post-mortems on some of the bodies revealed that the victims had been strangled and possibly raped.

Hechter said on Monday that the bodies had not been officially identified because of the advanced stages of decomposition. "We are busy with DNA and forensic analysis."

The grisly scenes at the cane fields have shocked those in the area after the head of one of the victims was found to be missing from her body.

The victim's head was later retrieved from a dog nearby.

- The Witness

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