Grahamstown police have again disputed continued rumours that there is a serial killer behind a spate of murders in the town, urging anyone with information to bring it to the police rather than discuss it in public forums.
Grahamstown police have again disputed continued rumours that there is a serial killer behind a spate of murders in the town, urging anyone with information to bring it to the police rather than discuss it in public forums.
Spokesperson Captain Mali Govender, in an interview with Grocott's Mail yesterday, said even though it was not normal for people to die every weekend, there was no serial killer around.
She said police were aware that there were some people spreading rumours that there was someone behind all the killings. "If there is someone with proof or evidence of that, then that person should come forward and report that to the right authority.
"It's extremely serious when you make allegations without evidence – that way you are acting in an irresponsible manner. "We appeal to the community that anybody with information should come forward and police will do their investigation.
"It does not help to pinpoint on something that we don't have evidence of. It is also not going to help if the community shares information alone and not with the relevant people," said Govender.
Referring to bodies found in the area recently, Govender warned that dog owners should take care of their animals. She said dogs were a big problem and gave an example of a man who was killed by dogs two years ago in Tantyi location.
Govender said the man was drunk and trying to pee when the dogs attacked him. She said the man died on the scene and police had almost concluded that he was hit by a car since the incident had happened next to the road. "The second case was the woman who was found in Mayfield; the post-mortem results showed that she was bitten by dogs.
"We are not trying to say it's the dogs that are killing people, but they also make police investigation difficult. "It's sensitive to say it but if dogs go and help themselves in a body it becomes difficult to determine what killed that person. "That makes the investigation too difficult because the dogs have tampered with (the body)," said Govender.
So far there has been nobody arrested or questioned in connection with the bodies found in Grahamstown.
Govender said police have done their preliminary investigations but she does not want to reveal anything since investigations were continuing.
