Another S. African serial killer stalks the veldt
Offshore Eddie
Norman Joseph
December 01 2005 at 12:15PM
Is this the man who holds the key to solving at least eight murders, seven rapes
and three attempted murders in the farmlands of Philippi?
[Picture here:
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20051201122430565C556895]
The photograph released on Thursday by police hunting the serial killer shows
Stanley Martens, who has served time at a Boland prison for burglaries and other
crimes, and who lived in the West Coast town of Vredenburg.He has been described
as tall and of slender build, and aged between 43 and 49.
On Wednesday a police taskforce formed to hunt down a man who has been
terrorising farmworkers found what they believe is his hide-out on a Philippi
farm.
The hand-picked unit has been working around the clock since Monday, and is
closing in on the elusive killer.
Police have seized a hammer
He is allegedly responsible for the murders of at least 10 male farmworkers, the
murder and rape of two women farmworkers, five other rapes and three attempted
murders.
Police have seized a hammer believed to have been used to attack some of the
victims.
On Wednesday at least five assault victims helped police compile an identikit.
Several others agreed on Tuesday to take investigators to where they were
attacked.
After an intensive search through Philippi farmlands, detectives found the
alleged hide-out and a bag of personal documents and belongings.
The handwriting on some of the personal items seemed to match that on a note the
killer left last month near Philippi's sand-mining area, where the bodies of
three farmworkers were found.
It also matched the scribbled notes the killer left on the walls of farmworkers'
houses. In one of these notes, he threatened a farmworker by name, and indicated
he was coming for her because she "knew too much".
The last note, attached to a thick patch of bush, gave directions to where the
bodies could be found at the sand-mining spot.
Police said the man they believe is behind the crime orgy had spent four years
in a Boland prison for burglaries. He was released on July 13, and the murders
and rapes began on July 30.
They established that he had links with Piketberg and Vredenburg and in those
towns they obtained addresses on the Cape Flats where he could be hiding.
The taskforce is pursuing links with the West Coast towns, and other police are
hunting clues on the Cape Flats in general and the farmlands of Philippi in
particular.
Meanwhile the police watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate, is
keeping a close watch on the hunt.
This follows complaints by farmworkers that Philippi police had at first not
taken their reports of a serial killer in the area seriously.
At first police did not believe one person was responsible, but now they have
changed their view.
Western Cape police Captain Elliott Sinyangana said: "We have made it clear that
the investigation has not shown any evidence of serial killing, though all
possibilities and leads are being taken into serious consideration.
"After having focused on the investigation, we have established that there are
similarities in the methods used by the alleged perpetrators.
"A project team has been assigned to investigate these cases.
"It is now clear that we are looking for one person who can be connected to at
least eight murders that were committed over the last two months," Singanyana
said.
Police were looking for "a male person known as Stanley Martens, originally from
the Vredenburg area".
He added: "We believe that this man can assist us with the investigation of
these cases, and therefore request anyone with information on his whereabouts,
to contact Detective Captain Reynold Talmakkies at 021 690 1500 or Crime Stop on
086 00 10111."
This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on December 01,
2005
Offshore Eddie
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20051205111255970C449337
Serial killer suspect tries to hang himself
December 05 2005 at 07:45PM
By Norman Joseph and Jo Steele
The man arrested in connection with a spate of murders and rapes in the
farmlands of Philippi tried to hang himself in a Philippi police cell on Sunday
night.
The man, who was due to appear in the Wynberg magistrate's court on Monday, is
now in Groote Schuur Hospital under police guard.
Shortly after 11pm on Sudnay night, the man was found lying on the floor of his
cell by police officers. They had been alerted by other prisoners, who screamed
from adjacent cells, according to a court orderly.
He had several injuries around his neck, head and face and a strip of cloth was
found in a corner of the cell.
The man was arrested on Thursday on a Philippi farm where he is believed to have
been hiding among farm workers during a police search.
He faces 11 charges of murder, three of attempted murder and eight charges of
rape, all allegedly committed over several months in Philippi.
Two weeks ago, farmworkers said they were living in fear of a man with "Jesus"
tattooed on his upper lip.
Police Captain Elliot Sinyangana declined to say whether the man they had in
custody had such a tattoo.
Last Thursday police revealed that they wanted to question a man called Stanley
Martens in connection with their investigation.
Martens had been convicted on eight burglary charges, served time in a Boland
prison, and lived in the West Coast town of Vredenburg.
nor...@incape.co.za/j...@incape.co.za
This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on December 05,
2005
Offshore Eddie
Norman Joseph
December 02 2005 at 02:01PM
Police have nabbed a man they believe is the elusive Philippi serial killer and
rapist - after he made a fatal blunder.
As dozens of police combed the Philippi farmlands shortly after 1pm on Thursday
in search of a killer that has eluded them for months, the 49-year-old suspect
mingled with local farmworkers, trying to avoid being spotted.
But then one searcher saw him throw his ID book and a pen into nearby bushes.
The policeman confronted him and retrieved the ID and pen.
On checking the ID, police, who had been searching farms near Weltevrede Road at
the time, realised they had found their suspect and arrested him.
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The arrest came after four days of around-the-clock investigations by a special
taskforce led by murder and robbery detective Captain Reynold Talmakkies.
Police believe the arrested man is responsible for a string of murders and rapes
on Philippi farms over four months.
The suspect could face charges related to at least 11 murders, eight rapes and
three attempted murders. More charges, including other murders and rapes, are
likely to be added.
On Thursday police identified Stanley Martens as someone who could help their
investigation. He had been convicted on eight burglary charges, served time in a
Boland prison, and lived in the West Coast town of Vredenburg.
Just before midday on Thursday, police had to intervene when farmworkers
severely assaulted a man they believed was the suspect. The man was taken into
custody for questioning. Another man was arrested soon after when he was seen
running away over farmland.
Late on Thursday the three men were taken for DNA testing. Two were later
released, and one was kept in custody.
Police spokesperson Captain Elliot Sinyangana confirmed the arrest of "a
49-year-old male suspect in the Philippi vicinity".
"The suspect will appear in the Wynberg magistrate's court on Monday."
Police have a hammer believed to have been used in some of the attacks.
These were the crimes that shocked the Philippi farming community:
On October 9, at about 2am, on the Onverwacht Farm in Punt Road, farmworker Mina
Fortuin woke up to find an intruder choking her. The man asked where her husband
was and left when she said he was not at home. The following morning, she
reported her husband, Petrus Marks, missing. His body was later recovered from
an irrigation dam.
On October 22, the bodies of Howard Stuurman and Brendon Kortjee were found with
their heads battered in a shelter on the Brock Sandmine Farm in Old Weltevrede
Road.
On October 26, the naked body of Magriet Koela was found in bushes near where
the other two bodies had been found.
A detailed description of how to get to the crime scene had been left on the
wall of a nearby house. Indications were that Koela had been raped and
strangled.
On October 29, the bodies of two elderly farmworkers, Lucas Manewel and Goodman
Luhayi, were discovered bludgeoned on the Western Cape Seedlings Farm. A woman
was severely assaulted and raped during the attack.
On November 5, two female farmworkers were raped near the Geduld Farm off
Weltevrede Road.
The burnt body of a Rastafarian, known as Rasta, Conrad or Lange, was found on a
farm near Weltevrede Road on November 7.
On November 15 the body of a farmworker was found in an irrigation dam on a farm
near Lower Ottery Road. He had been hit on the head, dragged some distance and
then dumped in the dam. A hammer and red candle were found near the body.
Also on November 15, a female farmworker living near the Geduld Farm was
assaulted and raped by a man who tried to strangle her.
On November 20, the body of farmworker Frans Barnshaw was found in a stable next
to his farmhouse on the Geduld Farm. He had been bludgeoned. A woman was raped
during the attack.
The following day on the same farm, the body of farmworker Jennifer Petersen was
found in an irrigation dam.
This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on December 02,
2005