By Jani Meyer and Graeme Hosken
Police investigating a spate of killings in Durban were on Thursday meeting in Pretoria with forensic criminologist Elmarie Myburgh in the hope of getting a better understanding of the killer.
Investigators armed with photographs of the latest victim, who was found naked with her hands tied, were hoping that Myburgh would give them an updated profile of the killer.
They were also confident that vital clues being followed up would lead to the arrest of the "Riverman" serial killer who has been killing women in the northern Durban area.
The killer's 13th victim was found under the N2 bridge over the Umhlangeni River on Monday by workers who were clearing away the bushes along the river bank.
A profile of the killer will narrow down the search by highlighting characteristics likely to be found.
Most serial killers kill within their own race group, so it was likely that the killer was an African man, possibly with a deep hatred for women due to past or even early childhood experiences.
Residents in the Newlands East area haev expressed concern that not enough was being done to catch the killer. They said women were living in fear while the killer was stalking the area.
The latest victim had been killed about nine hours before her body was recovered.
Police Director Bala Naidoo said the police were following up clues.
"We are confident of apprehending the killer because our track record in the arrest of serial killers is very high," he said.
A team of Durban investigators who arrested the Cane Field strangler in 1997 held the world record for apprehending a serial killer from the time the killings were linked to one man.
None of the 13 victims has been identified and nobody has come forward to report a missing relative or friend.
The victims are all African women between the ages of 25 and 40 and were found within 100m of each other, either in the Umhlangeni River, along its banks or in the fields next to the river.
Anyone with information can contact Captain Keith Hodgett on 083-627-0447 or Inspector Marius Laubscher on 082-499-8348.