Carlo Petersen
KENSINGTON residents are in the grip of fear after hearing a serial killer could be behind the murders of five women found buried in shallow graves near Century City train station.
Police warned residents yesterday that a serial killer could be operating in areas surrounding the train station.
Kensington street committee chairman Mogamat Nordien said: “It’s very concerning for the community because we already have a growing crime problem due to drug abuse.
“The area used to be so quiet and suddenly there’s a surge of crime this year, and now this. The last time Kensington had a murder case was years ago.”
The most recent badly decomposed body was found near the station on Saturday.
A police source said a body was found in the area every two months since March.
The decomposed bodies were all women found naked and buried faced down in shallow graves with their hands bound behind their backs.
The source yesterday told the Cape Times: “The bodies are being sent for forensic tests because they are so badly decomposed.”
He said the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit had taken over the investigations in these cases.
“The search for more bodies has not begun yet, but the community has been warned of the possibility of a serial killer operating near Century City station. Further investigations are under way.”
On Tuesday, the police officer – who would not be named due to the “high profile” nature of the investigation – said police suspected a serial killer because the modus operandi was the same for all the bodies found.
“We suspect a serial killer, and police also suspect rape, but the bodies were so decomposed they could not be identified and no fingerprints could be taken.”
All the women were estimated to be between 20 and 32 years old.
Nordien said a recent surge in crime due to a drug-abuse problem in Kensington had led to “addicts digging for scrap on the field where the bodies were found”.
The source said queries about missing women have been sent to police stations, but investigators have received no feedback.
Police spokesman Andre Traut confirmed that police were looking into the possibility of a link between the most recent discovery of a woman’s body and similar discoveries made earlier this year in the same area.
No arrests have yet been made, said Traut.