"Mbabane - A Swazi man was convicted Wednesday of murdering 28 people, mostly women and children, making him the deadliest serial killer ever to strike in the tiny African kingdom.
David Simelane, 53, has spent a decade behind bars as his trial dragged over five years. He showed no emotion as Judge Jacobus Annandale read out the long string of convictions.
Sentencing was set for April 01, when Simelane could face death.
During the trial, Simelane claimed that he had confessed to the killing under duress, telling the court: "Police kill people every day in this country".
His lawyer Mduduzi Mabila told AFP he intended to appeal.
"From my understanding the convictions are based on a confession that was challenged," he said.
Annandale ruled the confessions admissible, noting that they were challenged only toward the end of the trial.
"Of course the best evidence would have been, and should have been scientific DNA evidence," the judge said, bemoaning prosecutors' failure to produce such evidence at trial.
Fears for safety
Simelane's killing spree is believed to have begun in the late 1990s and lasted until 2001 when families began reporting missing relatives.
Police arrested Simelane in 2001 on a tip-off, and he then led them to the shallow graves of his victims in sites dotted around the country.
A total of 45 bodies, including several pregnant women, were discovered - most in the woods in Malkerns, outside Swaziland's main city Manzini. He was charged with 34 murders, and convicted Wednesday of 28.
Police claimed Simelane lured the women with the promise of work. When their bodies were discovered, they were too badly decomposed to determine if they had been raped.
The case has gripped Swaziland, raising fears for the safety of women and also the spectre of ritual killings. That motive was never raised in court, but the theory has swirled through local media that Simelane was possibly selling body parts to make magical "medicine".
David Simelane, 53, has spent a decade behind bars as his trial dragged over five years. He showed no emotion as Judge Jacobus Annandale read out the long string of convictions.
Sentencing was set for April 01, when Simelane could face death.
During the trial, Simelane claimed that he had confessed to the killing under duress, telling the court: "Police kill people every day in this country".
His lawyer Mduduzi Mabila told AFP he intended to appeal.
"From my understanding the convictions are based on a confession that was challenged," he said.
Annandale ruled the confessions admissible, noting that they were challenged only toward the end of the trial.
"Of course the best evidence would have been, and should have been scientific DNA evidence," the judge said, bemoaning prosecutors' failure to produce such evidence at trial.
Fears for safety
Simelane's killing spree is believed to have begun in the late 1990s and lasted until 2001 when families began reporting missing relatives.
Police arrested Simelane in 2001 on a tip-off, and he then led them to the shallow graves of his victims in sites dotted around the country.
A total of 45 bodies, including several pregnant women, were discovered - most in the woods in Malkerns, outside Swaziland's main city Manzini. He was charged with 34 murders, and convicted Wednesday of 28.
Police claimed Simelane lured the women with the promise of work. When their bodies were discovered, they were too badly decomposed to determine if they had been raped.
The case has gripped Swaziland, raising fears for the safety of women and also the spectre of ritual killings. That motive was never raised in court, but the theory has swirled through local media that Simelane was possibly selling body parts to make magical "medicine".
No comments:
Post a Comment