The alleged serial rapist, murderer and houserobber who terrorised Joburg's central suburbs for six months has been described as highly dangerous, cruel and arrogant.
Mkhululi Chonco was linked to dozens of home invasions, two rapes, four murders and eleven attempted murders during his alleged crime spree between December 2013 and May 2014. Targeting Jeppestown, Malvern and Fairview, Chonco's typical modus operandus was to break down doors of people's homes in the middle of the night, where he would rob them, threaten to kill them and during certain incidents, carry out his threats.
His marathon criminal trial continued today (Monday) at the High Court in Joburg, where top forensic criminologist, Captain Elmarie Myburgh, not only analysed his patterns of behaviour, but also the ways in which he would intimidate or kill his victims.
Myburgh concluded that after examining the more than 40 incidents, each of them had to have been perpretrated by one offender. The expert explained how Chonco's persistent use of violence, either direct or threats, was an indication of his violent, "dangerous" nature. According to Myburgh, the obvious and reckless displays of violence were uncommon , and such behaviour was a strong linkage factor in determining all of the incidents had been committed by the same person.
She said his tendency to take the keys to the homes he was robbing was an intimidation tactic that led many of the victims anxious that he would return. Myburgh described this as "prolonging of the trauma for the victims". Before leaving their homes, he would often lock the complainants inside, to show he was still in control of his victims.
Taking the house keys also showed a lot of arrogance, as in some cases, he would return to the same property's and rob other people living separately on the premises.
Targeting the same areas was also a sign of a serial offender, according to Myburgh, with Chonco allegedly targeting small clusters of homes, with the largest distance between these clusters just 3.5 kilometers.
"It appears the offender knew the area well, which is further emphasized by the fact that most of the houses targeted are adjacent to open yards, open veldts or a railway line, which made escaping hte premises unnoticed easier," she said.
The comfort zones were likely chosen because he had either lived or worked in those areas, she said.
Yesterday, advocate Maro Christoforou for the State also asked for Myburgh's assistance in examining police statements from victims who could not be found to testify during the already lengthy trial. Myburgh concluded the three statements shared enough similarities to be considered hearsay evidence, and that it was likely their incidents were also committed by the same offender.
It's understood that Chonco has decided to take the stand as part of his defence, his argument being that he was not in Johannesburg at the time of the crimes. However, the State has already presented DNA evidence to the court linking him to a large number of the crime scenes.
The trial continues.
@ShainGermaner