Durban - Sydenham residents woke up to a grisly discovery after three badly decomposed bodies were found in thick bushes.
The discovery on Tuesday was made by an unsuspecting scrap metal collector who stumbled upon human remains in the bushes off Locksley Drive. He reported it to the police at about 8am.
Police went to investigate and after a search found two other bodies in the area.
A policeman who was at the scene, but cannot be named because he is not authorised to talk to the media, said it appeared as though two of the bodies had been “dumped” in the bush more than six months ago.
“Judging from the rate of decomposition, it appears that two of the three bodies had been there (in the bush) for months – maybe six to seven months,” he said.
“The third body, however, appears to have been there for less than two months.”
Post-mortems would be conducted to try to establish the identities of the bodies.
The source said police dogs were brought in, but were unable to find more bodies because the area was difficult to access.
Sizwe Mkhabela, a nearby resident, said he was shocked by the find and that it had taken so long for the bodies to be discovered.
Sydenham Community Police Forum spokesman, Satish Dhupelia, reiterated Mkhabela’s concern regarding the time it had taken for the bodies to be found.
“Two bodies were found in the same bush about four years ago, now three have been found. It’s shocking,” he said.
Dhupelia said the deaths could have been attributed to illegal and unprotected electrical connections from the nearby informal settlement.
“Apart from the illegal connections, the bush needs to be cleaned to avoid discoveries like these in future,” Dhupelia said.
Police spokesman, Captain Thulani Zwane, said three cases of murder were being investigated.
“DNA tests would be conducted to determine the cause of death, possible date of death as well as the identities.
“The motive and the circumstances surrounding the killings are unknown at this stage,” Zwane said.
Daily News