Durban - AS ONE of the two South Coast men suspected of killing five women in the Mthwalume area committed suicide, the other will walk free because of insufficient evidence linking him to the murders
One of the men hanged himself in a police holding cell and was found yesterday morning, while the surviving suspect attempted suicide by swallowing crushed glass on Saturday.
The men were due to appear in the Mthuthwini Magistrate’s Court yesterday, but the hearing was derailed by the death of the main suspect in the gruesome murders.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) provincial spokesperson Natasha Kara said after studying the dockets, chief prosecutor Jabulani Cebekhulu, of the Umzumbe cluster, found that there was a case against the dead man, but insufficient evidence against the surviving suspect.
Asked if that meant the man would be released, Kara said: “Yes, that would be so, as we did not put him on the court roll.”
The pair were arrested on Friday in connection with the murders of the women, whose bodies were dumped in a sugarcane field and a nearby bush, between April and August.
The last two of the five bodies were found last week.
A source close to the case said the main suspect was kept in isolation and was found yesterday morning, hanging from a rail in the toilet.
He had apparently used socks and a length of string to hang himself.
“This is just so wrong and it’s puzzling how he got (the items to hang himself) inside a holding cell. The other suspect is free because the only thing linking him to the case was a cellphone, which he said he bought from the deceased,” said the source.
The second suspect apparently attempted suicide by swallowing glass from crushed bottles and was hospitalised on Saturday.
Police Minister Bheki Cele yesterday said the investigation was continuing.
“We have asked the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) to check the incident because there will be speculation about whatever we say about his suicide. This has weakened our second case because the second suspect was only linked to the crime by the information from the deceased suspect.
“The prosecution has told us that the case could not be enrolled because the existing evidence is weak. We’re continuing to investigate and called for four more experts from Pretoria to join the team of investigators, because we want to leave no stone unturned. There is new information indicating we might find there are more people involved in this crime,” said Cele.
The community and local community policing forum (CPF) were devastated on hearing of the developments.
CPF chairperson Lucky Bhuyeni said the developments were a “terrible blow” to the community because the dead man had not given much detail on how and why he killed the women.
“Who else was involved in this because there is suspicion that more people are involved? Could there be foul play in this death? We have many questions and few answers,” Bhuyeni said.
It was speculated that the women were killed for muti, as their bodies were mutilated.
IFP Ugu chairperson Sfundo Ngwane said they were also shocked to learn about the suicide.
“We’re calling on the police to guard the remaining suspect around the clock because there will be no justice for the victims if the perpetrators do not face the law. We also wish the police could work swiftly to arrest whoever else was involved in these murders.”
Daily News