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Western Cape Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Yolisa Matakata (left) with police officers on a visit to Wolseley on Monday.
- The residents of Wolseley in the Western Cape are convinced that a man arrested in the city for murder is a “serial killer.”
- The man was apparently seen dragging the body of 21-year-old Bernadine Frans in a veld on Saturday.
- Since then, two more bodies have been found in shallow graves on the same terrain.
Community members in Wolseley in the Western Cape are on the warpath after a “serial killer” was arrested on murder charges in the informal Pine Valley settlement on Saturday.
The man was apparently seen dragging the body of Bernadine “Bernie” Frans, 21, into a nearby field, News24 previously reported.
According to Western Cape Police spokesman Brigadier Novela Potelwa, community members alerted police to suspicious activity in the Pine Valley area on Saturday after 11pm.
“Upon arrival, the police made the shocking discovery. The suspect, who also resides in the area, was subsequently arrested,” Potelwa said.
On Sunday, police were called back to the area after a passerby discovered a shallow grave in an open field.
The body of a woman was found.
Then a third body was also discovered. However, the suspect so far has not been linked to these murders. The sex of the third victim has not yet been determined.
Community leader Sofia Thomas told EWN that the community was in shock.
“The community is very unhappy. The whole community went to the place where Bernie was murdered. That same guy is not a Wolseley guy, he’s a guy we didn’t know.
Bernadine Frans, a 21-year-old Wolseley resident.
“This guy, he shouldn’t get bail. There are a lot of kids staying in Pine Valley, so we think the children’s lives and everyone’s lives are in danger. Everyone says it looks like he’s a [serial] assassin. He was laughing when [sat] in the [police] They go and he was waving to the community, “he told EWN.
By Monday, the Wolseley community had been talking about the “serial killer,” Netwerk24 reported.
The suspect reportedly lived in a caravan in the residential area and was apparently a quiet man. Angry residents set their caravan on fire Saturday night.
Frans’ mother, Kristien Marthinus, told Netwerk24 that her son was “cruelly tortured, strangled and thrown away like garbage.”
Marthinus reportedly identified his daughter’s body at the Ceres morgue on Monday.
“From what I could see it was clear that she was strangled. There were marks around her neck and she had blue bruises, her cheek was also bitten. She looked violent,” he said.
Western Cape Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Yolisa Matakata visited the informal Pine Valley settlement on Monday.
The 33-year-old suspect has been charged with murder and will appear in court in Wolseley on Tuesday.
– Compiled by Riaan Grobler
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