The man suspected of kidnapping and murdering a Johannesburg teenager, allegedly phoned his wife while driving to hand himself over to police in Margate, and told her about his crimes.
The man handed himself over to Margate police on Thursday at 5am. A few hours later he was identified by detectives as the wanted man known as the Sunday Rapist.
The Sunday Rapist is linked to 10 other incidents of rape – one of them ending in murder – around Gauteng over the past three years.
The latest victim,
schoolgirl Louise de Waal, 16, was abducted on Wednesday while walking to Hoërskool Die Burger in Florida, Roodepoort, with her friend, Natasha Gordon.
A silver-grey Toyota Hilux bakkie driven by a man with short brown hair stopped beside them at about 7.20am.
The man pushed Natasha aside and grabbed Louise, threatening the girls with a firearm when Natasha tried to hang on to Louise’s arm.
The man is understood to have confessed to police that he had taken Louise to a farm in the Magaliesberg district, where he raped her. He then strangled her and set her body alight.
He decided to hand himself over to police after an hour-long cellphone conversation with investigating officer, Warrant Officer Peet du Toit.
Margate Police Station spokesman, Captain Gerald Mfeka, said the man told investigators that while he was driving from Roodepoort to Margate, he had phoned his wife and disclosed the shocking details of his involvement in Louise’s murder.
He then spoke to Du Toit and handed himself in at Margate police station.
“He is on his way to Johannesburg where he will be charged with kidnapping and murder.”
The man appeared nervous outside the Margate police station on Thursday, covering his head with his T-shirt.
Major-General Nobesuthu Masiye, speaking at a briefing at Gauteng police headquarters on Thursday, told the media that Du Toit had managed to get in touch with the suspect’s brother, who convinced him to talk to police, leading to the arrest.
The suspect had a history of sexual violence, having been found guilty of one charge in 2007 and given a three year suspended sentence.
Mfeka, said the suspect – who may not be named until he has pleaded in court – drove from Johannesburg last night, aware that a manhunt for him was under way.
Police have confirmed that they found the Hilux bakkie used in the crime, the victim’s schoolbag and the firearm used to abduct her at the suspect’s home.
Clearing up the mystery of why the suspect had shoved Natasha aside and taken Louise, Mfeka said the suspect claimed to have taken Louise because “he liked the way she looked”.
Striking
The suspect maintains that he saw the striking young girl with unusual eyes (one green, the other blue) for the first time on the day of the kidnapping.
Johannesburg police said that there was no known link between the suspect and Louise.
Du Toit said the modus operandi typically used by the Sunday Rapist matched that of the latest incident in many respects.
The Sunday Rapist is known to have driven around suburbs in Gauteng and the North West, usually on Sundays, prowling for girls between the ages of 10 and 17.
He would abduct them at gunpoint and drive to a secluded spot about 20-30km away where he would rape them and abandon them without shoes.
He would also generally keep a memento, such as panties or a lock of hair, Du Toit said. This is perhaps why Louise’s schoolbag was found on his property.
Police have officially linked all 10 Sunday Rapist attacks to Louise’s abduction and murder. In one of the earlier attacks, the victim was also murdered.
Louise’s body, burnt beyond recognition, was found about 50km away from her school on a farm in the Magaliesberg area on Thursday.
Her family was able to identify the body by a belly ring and earrings, but police are still waiting on official DNA testing to confirm the identity of the body. - Daily News, Page 1