Mystery of the 'serial killer'

Why has everybody gone silent about the so-called Silverton serial killer?

- Marizka Coetzer

Earlier this month, speculation that an alleged serial killer is on the loose spread shock and fear through the Silverton and greater Pretoria area, after the police revealed that five bodies had been discovered.

The police's original statement was that a body was found in a shallow grave with a PS note attached. More badly burned bodies were found between June and July in Silverton, between the Watloo and Denneboom train stations.

Four bodies in a matter of two months with an obvious similarity screams serial killer to me... and the rest of the community.

However, police said it was not confirmed that a serial killer was behind the killings.

A few days after the first body was found in a shallow grave, police arrested a suspect who had fled to Limpopo to hide in his grandmother's house.

While the swift arrest was welcomed, the question remained of who had killed the other four victims during June and July.