Fear has gripped R1 village where nine women and girls have been axed to death so far in a killing spree that has forced people to abandon their homes and flee from the area. All the murders  have taken place in the last three months and the similarities of the cases have prompted talk that it is the work of a serial killer. Police have since formed a task team to investigate the murders.

Another cold-blooded murder has rocked the R1 Village outside Butterworth, with a 79-year-old woman being hacked to death. The body of Norah Dyantyi was found by villagers in the early hours of yesterday morning. She is a 10th victim killed in this village in the last four months.

The murders started in December last year when Nolundi Monakali was raped and killed. Shocked villagers said “it was the first of its kind”. Then, on December 28, Sibongile Ngambi died in a similar attack. On January 21, 47-year-old Nokhwezi Nogaya and her six- year-old daughter Sesethu were raped and hacked to death, and her only son, Anele, 14, was severely injured. A week later, the decomposed bodies of Nobandla, Zintle and Lazola Mafika were found in their home. Then on Sunday, Ntombomzi Gubevu, 70, and her 13-year-old granddaughter Nonelelwa were raped and murdered.

In each case the victims suffered two wounds – a gash to the head and a severed artery in the neck. “These are acts of a serial killer, but nobody cares about us in this village. Police seem to be scared of coming closer and protecting us,” said Gomba, the relative of the last victim.
“We are living in danger. Our lives are at risk and we don’t know who will be killed next. Police are doing their job, but we need a lot of them to be deployed here.”

Butterworth police spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha said police could not speculate on the motive behind the most recent murder.

-article by Bongani Fuzile rewritten and adapted by admin-