Three more unsolved murder cases were added to the list of names at an inquest where Norman Afzal Simons, the man suspected of being the notorious Station Strangler, was asked to testify.
Although police believe the murders of 21 boys were the work of the Station Strangler, who held Cape Flats communities in the grip of terror from 1986 to 1994, Simons was sentenced to life after he was convicted of only one of these.
He was summonsed earlier this year to testify at the inquest into the murders of two boys - Elino Sprinkle, 9, and 11-year-old Donovan Swartz - both of Mitchells Plain.
Another dossier, that of 9-year-old Marcelino Cupido - one of the 21 boys - was added when Simons appeared before the inquest in August.
The murder cases of three boys - Owen Hofmeester, 12, Fabian Wilmore, 8, and an unidentified boy believed to have been approximately 14 - were added on Tuesday. Like many other Station Strangler victims, their bodies were found in shallow graves on sand dunes in Mitchells Plain.
Simons, a former teacher, made a brief return to court on Tuesday and the matter was postponed to February as more DNA samples will be taken from Sprinkle, Swartz and Cupido.
His lawyer, Koos Louw, said they had no objections to more names being included on the list. He said it would take another eight to 10 weeks to get the DNA results.
A clean-shaven Simons, dressed in orange prison overalls and wearing a bulletproof vest, was brought to court earlier than at the last appearance and appeared calm.
Security was tight and only the families of the victims and the media were allowed in the courtroom.
Louw said while his client was summoned to court as a potential suspect in the unresolved murders, he hoped the inquest would shed new light on the cases and that Simons maintained he was innocent and was willing to co-operate.
"He maintains he's not the Station Strangler and I'm keeping my thumbs up for a positive outcome of this inquest," Louw said.
Also in court was Swartz's mother, Stella Jafta, who later said: "It still hurts. I believe he is the killer because he was clever enough not to leave evidence. He was a teacher who knew how to handle children."
While proceedings were under way, scores of armed prison guards and police officers kept watch outside as a crowd of angry Mitchells Plain residents gathered at the gates, still awaiting Simons's arrival.
About 20 minutes after the postponement, a four-vehicle prison convoy carrying Simons sped away as the crowd hurled a torrent of insults.
A Beacon Valley housewife, Faldelah Abrahams, said: "We don't agree with this inquest. It is a waste of time because everyone knows he is the killer. This community will never allow him to return."