Gustav Thiel
Residents of Claremont, a neighbourhood south of Johannesburg caught in a web of paranoia since an alleged serial killer murdered four people there in July, believe the tragedies should have been prevented by the police.
Hendrik van Wyk, whose sister Lelanie lost her life on July 19 when the killer struck twice in one day, said: My sister would still be alive if the police cared. They hardly spoke to me after it happened and never warned us before the murder.
According to a police expert onserial killers, Annemarie Myburgh, two suspects with a similar psychological profile are being sought in connection with 14 murders over the past 17 months.
The first 10 murders took place in the vicinity of Wemmer Pan, but the killer (or killers) then moved to Claremont, about 10km away. Most of the victims were shot, some were beaten to death with sharp objects. Some of the female victims were raped.
Police representative, Captain Andy Pieke, says they are convinced the man operates mostly by himself, but had assistance in some of the murders.
The names of survivors are being withheld by police to protect them. Strangely, some of the victims have not been named either as they were caught in adulterous relationships when they were killed. Seven of the victims have not been identified.
The killer, described by Myburgh as a black man between the ages of 30 and 40 without any unusual physical traits, struck at Wemmer Pan on July 12, before moving on.
On July 19, he claimed his first two victims at Claremont, Lelanie van Wyk (15) and Martin Stander (19), who had been on their way home from a nearby pool hall at 2am. Their bodies were found in an empty field on Plateau Drive.
The killer murdered 24-year-old Sarah Lenkpane and an unidentified man on the same day in Claremont.
The only relatives of any of the 14 victims identified by the police are those of Van Wyk and Stander. Standers family refused to speak about the incident. His bereaved father told the Mail & Guardian he could see no point in speaking to the press.
The Van Wyk family believes Lelanies death brought fear to a whole community and has caused severe racial tension. Her uncle, Donevan Kuhn, says: The police do not care about ordinary people like us.
Hendrik van Wyk said this week the police ignored the communitys information about the case. We are not clever about these things, but they were not even interested in listening to us.
The police should have warned people long ago about the dangers in our neighbourhood, but they couldnt care. Now my sister is dead and everybody in Claremont is waiting for the next murder. When will they catch this fuck-head?
Kuhn blamed the police more directly: The incompetence of the police killed Lelanie. Now this whole neighbourhood lives in fear.
The family have been traumatised, says Van Wyk, not only by Lelanies death, but because they believe that another person could be killed soon.
My mother has taken to heavy drinking and she is in no shape to speak about the case. I dont know whether she will make it but I can tell you one thing, if it was a kaffir that got killed, the police would have acted better, said Van Wyk, who was unaware that the killer chose several black people as victims.
His statement, says Kuhn, is just an indication of how people struggle to get by with each other after Lelanie and Martin got killed.
Van Wyks older brother, Frikkie, has been traumatised to such an extent that he has kept a piece of his sisters brain in his hand almost all day since the day she was killed.
Pieke says people in Johannesburg should be aware of the dangers of walking at night. This is the only way to prevent these tragedies. We are confident that we can catch the Wemmer Pan serial killer, because we have an identikit compiled from survivors reports. We will nab him soon and then continue with catching the next serial killer, wherever he might be.