A seven-year manhunt for a serial rapist came to an end this week.
Police cross-checked forensics, conducting hundreds of interviews and revisited dozens of crime sites, leading to the arrest of Jonas Kgabo Moshabi, who appeared in the Seshego Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The 40-year-old husband and father-of-six is being charged with 27 separate counts of rape and two murders, all committed since 2005.
In December last year, the forensics department in Pretoria noticed a pattern – 27 rape cases involved the same DNA.
“We had a serial rapist on our hands,” said police spokeswoman Lieutenant Ronel Otto.
A task team was formed, and over the next five months, detectives revisited all 27 crime scenes, interviewed all known witnesses again and did forensic tests. This led to a breakthrough in the case.
The police were unwilling to go into detail, saying this could jeopardise future operations.
“Criminals already learn too much from CSI and other TV shows. We can’t give away our tactics,” said Otto.
The forensics team analysed the samples at the weekend, and on Monday morning, Limpopo police detectives received a phone call.
“The DNA of the suspect matched one of the people we interviewed,” said Otto.
Also, bloodstains found at two crime scenes linked the suspect with the murders of a 14-year-old girl and a 72-year-old woman.
On Tuesday, police knocked on the suspect’s door at a house in Moletjie, outside Seshego, where all the crimes had taken place, and he answered.
The suspect will next appear in court on May 31.
yusuf.omar@inl.co.za
The Star