Serial rapist admits to killing schoolgirl

2011-10-13 12:58

Johannesburg - A suspected serial rapist has admitted to kidnapping and murdering Florida high school pupil Louise de Waal, Gauteng police said on Thursday.

"He handed himself in at the Margate police station [in KwaZulu-Natal], this morning," acting Gauteng Police Commissioner Major General Nobesuthu Masiya told reporters in Johannesburg.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said KwaZulu-Natal police were questioning the man and "certain admissions have been made [by him]".

He said that by noon on Thursday, police were not sure whether the admissions would culminate in a formal confession.

Masiya said Warrant Officer Peet du Toit, who headed up the investigation into the kidnapping of the teenager, got hold of the man through his brother, and persuaded him to hand himself over. The man was allegedly linked to nine cases of rape and one of murder, she said.

The crimes were attributed to a man nicknamed the "Sunday rapist".

"He has not yet confessed to the other rapes and the murder," Masiya said.

Du Toit said the man's modus operandi matched the Sunday rapist's.

"The man usually goes out to prowl on Sunday between 10:00 and 13:00 in certain suburbs in Gauteng and the North West, and looks for girls between the ages of 10 and 17," he said.

"He then drives 20 or 30km away and rapes the girls. He often takes mementos from them like head-bands or panties."

Masiya said the man, in his 30s, had a previous conviction for sexual assault.

"He was arrested in 2007, convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. The sentence was suspended for three years. He spent time doing community service."

Masiya confirmed that a burnt body was found at a farm in Magaliesburg on Wednesday afternoon, but said police were awaiting forensic results before it could be identified.

De Waal was kidnapped at gunpoint while walking to school in White Ridge, Florida, west of Johannesburg, on Wednesday morning.

- SAPA