The trial of an alleged stalker, who is said to have raped his victims and then strangled them with their underwear, is due to start on Monday.
Lazarus Tshidiso Mazingane, 27, from Diepkloof, Soweto, faces 75 charges in the Johannesburg High Court.
Among them are 17 murders, 22 rapes and three kidnaps. More than a year has been set aside for the trial, and more than 300 people have been listed as witnesses.
The hefty, 83-page indictment tells the grim story of a man who is believed to have started killing in April 1993, and is said to have continued his murderous spree until mid-1998. Many of the murders were apparently committed with an accomplice.
However, according to advocate Nicolette Bell, who drew up the indictment, charges have been provisionally withdrawn against Mazingane's co-accused, who is also in prison. The two grew up together.
"It would not have been right to try them together. We decided to separate the cases because they didn't work together on all the murders," Bell said, adding that it was unlikely that Mazingane's alleged accomplice would testify against him.
The indictment includes chilling details of Mazingane's alleged five-year-long rape and killing spree. The murders were linked after Superintendent Piet Byleveld of the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit picked up a pattern in the so-called Nasrec murders.
According to the summary of facts outlined by the state, Mazingane witnessed an argument between his employer, Sydney Nobele, and his wife, Busiswe Tshabalala, at their home in Palm Springs, Sebokeng, on April 13 1993.
During the argument, Nobele is alleged to have hit Tshabalala on the head with an iron bar.
He and Mazingane then allegedly poured paraffin over her and placed her body near a heater. She died of burns after part of the house burnt down.
But it was not until two years later, on March 6, 1995, that Mazingane is believed to have struck again. Acting with his accomplice, he is alleged to have raped, robbed and murdered Margaret Dineo Mollo.
This murder was followed by another the following day. The victim remains unidentified.
From then on, Mazingane's alleged trail of terror intensified. Allegedly using the victim's underwear, or anything he could find at the scene of the crime, he would allegedly strangle his victims, rape them and often leave them dead. Only six of his 22 alleged rape victims survived the attacks.
Another murder which captured media attention was the brutal rape and murder of schoolgirl Prudence Miller. On May 6, 1996, the teenager took a taxi to Parktown Girls' High, but never arrived. Her body was found near the intersection of Sport and Nasrec roads.
As the years passed, Mazingane is believed to have started using a firearm. He also apparently began hijacking motorists along the highways in the Nasrec area.
On July 24, 1997 he is alleged to have hijacked Gert Aspeling, 66, and his wife Elsie, 62, when they pulled over on a highway after a tyre got a puncture.
Mazingane and his accomplice apparently offered to help change the wheel. When Aspeling refused the help, he was ordered to hand over the car keys.
Aspeling apparently ignored the order, got back into his car and was shot several times. His body was thrown out of the car, and Mazingane and his accomplice allegedly drove off with Elsie Aspeling in the car.
The crippled Elsie Aspeling was offloaded in a mealie field near Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg, where she was found at noon the following day.
The court will hear that Mazingane has been linked by DNA to many of the attacks. These forensic matches are what eventually ended the long-term search for the men who had killed so many women and dumped their bodies in the veld around the Nasrec area.
At the time the case was apparently solved by Byleveld, Mazingane was found to have been imprisoned for another crime.
The 17 murder charges
Murder 1: April 13 1993
Busiswe Rosetta Tshabalala was struck on the head and burnt to death after her body was left next to a heater.
Murder 2: March 1995
Margaret Mollo Dineo disappeared on March 6 1995. Her body was discovered in the veld near the intersection of Nasrec and Aerodrome roads on June 6 1995. She had been raped and strangled.
Murder 3: March 7 1995
An unidentified woman was raped and strangled. Her body was found at the intersection of Nasrec and Sport roads.
Murder 4: March 24 - 31 1996
Lindileni Paulina Mahlangu was robbed, raped and murdered. Her body was found at the intersection of Akker and Brandybush streets in Ormonde.
Murder 5: May 1 1996
Kedibone Catherine Maepe was raped and strangled. Her body was found near the intersection of Spencer and Main Reef roads in Roodepoort.
Murder 6: May 4 1996
Prudence Miller took a taxi to Parktown Girls' High but never arrived. She was raped and strangled, and her body was found near the intersection of Sport and Nasrec roads.
Murder 7: May 1, Aug 10 1996
Gladys Mabaso was robbed, raped and strangled. Her body was found in the veld in Naturena.
Murder 8: May 2 1996
Queen Mnguni was robbed, raped and murdered. Her body was found near New Canada Road in Soweto.
Murder 9: May 6 1996
Glen-Rose Vilakazi was assaulted, robbed, raped and strangled. Her body was found in the veld in the Nasrec-Aeroton area.
Murder 10: May 17 1996
Minah Msimanga was raped and strangled. Her body was found near a road intersection with Pat Mbatha highway on the outskirts of Ophirton.
Murder 11: June 6 1996
Prudence Mohomane was robbed, raped and strangled. Her body was found alongside the N1 highway in the Nasrec area.
Murder 12: July 5-15 1996
Maria Tshabalala was robbed, raped and strangled. Her body was found near the corner of Rifle Range Road and the Golden Highway.
Murder 13: Nov 26 1996
Utlwang Dorah Koma was raped and strangled. Her body was found near the M2 West, near Crown Mines.
Murder 14: July 24 1997
Gert Aspeling was hijacked and shot dead when he stopped to change a tyre on the N12 near the Old Potchefstroom Road.
Murder 15: Oct 23 1997
Joaquim Manuel Ferreira was shot when he stopped his bakkie on the N1 near the Rand Show offramp. He died in hospital of his injuries four days later.
Murder 16: February 27 1998
Palesa Molapisi was robbed, raped and strangled. Her body was found in Meadowlands Ext 4, Soweto.
Murder 17: April 23 1998
Susan Mlaba was attacked, raped and murdered. Her body was found near Mzimhlope women's hostel, Orlando, Soweto.