/ 6 October 2004

Alleged cannibal dies of gastroenteritis

A man accused of killing a woman and cooking her body parts has died from possible gastroenteritis although a case of murder has been opened, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday. Superintendent Jay Naicker said Elvis Matenjwa died in the Ngwelezan hospital on September 27. He was apparently admitted on September 22 suffering from gastroenteritis.

A man accused of killing a woman and cooking her body parts has died from possible gastroenteritis although a case of murder has been opened, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday.

Superintendent Jay Naicker said Elvis Matenjwa died in the Ngwelezan hospital on September 27. He was apparently admitted to the hospital under the name Themba Matenjwa on September 22. He was suffering from gastroenteritis.

Matenjwa was arrested in September 2003 after body parts of a missing woman, Gloria Mthembu, 46, were found cooking in a pot in Esikhawini near Eshowe on KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast. He was allegedly seen running away from the scene.

Matenjwa was also being investigated for the death of an unidentified woman in her 30s. Her body with several parts hacked off was found in the same area a few weeks earlier.

Charges against Matenjwa were provisionally dropped in May pending the results of a forensic investigation.

”We had to release him while the investigation was under way as there was no other information except he was allegedly seen running away from the murder scene,” Naicker said.

Police have opened a murder docket as Matenjwa appeared to have been assaulted recently.

”According to the branch commander of detective services at Esikhawini, Superintendent Hannes Mouton, the deceased had numerous injuries on his body that seem to have been sustained recently,” Naicker said.

The hospital records, however, show Matenjwa died from natural causes. A post mortem will be conducted on Thursday.

Police have taken copies of his fingerprints to verify his identity. ”Detectives are still continuing with the investigation of the two murders that he is suspected of being responsible for,” Naicker said. – Sapa