South Africa Ignoring A Serial Killer Targeting Gay Men?

A human rights organization in South Africa is accusing authorities of failing to properly investigate the deaths of four gay men. Local media outlets have suggested that the men are the victims of a homophobic serial killer.

"The continued use of culture in order to disguise criminal intent against LGBTI people has to be strongly condemned," said Javu Baloyi, a spokesman for the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), in a statement to The Huffington Post.

"The Commission is ... concerned about the long delays in cases relating to this issue. CGE views these acts as criminal acts and the perpetrators deserve to face the full might of the law," Baloyi said.

The victims, each in their 30s, were found dead between December 2010 and September 2011. All of the victims were bound and strangled, according to The Star.

The first victim, identified as 36-year-old Jim Cathels, was found dead in his Berea home in December 2010.

Roughly six months later, in June of this year, 33-year-old Reno Oscar O'Hara was found dead inside the home of Ivan Vladislavic, a South African short story author and novelist. O'Hara had been housesitting and was discovered by Vladislavic when he returned from a trip to the United Kingdom.

On Sept. 11, the body of Siphiwe Selby Nhlapo, 36, was found inside his flat in Kliptown, Soweto.

The latest victim, 39-year-old Barney van Heerden, was found dead in his Orange Grove home on Sept. 19. Half-full glasses of wine were found on a kitchen table, suggesting that Heerden may have known his attacker.

Heerden's case varies slightly from the others in that the killer poured acid onto the victim's body after death. Forensic specialist Dr. Mark Welman told The Star that the killer may have been attempting to destroy DNA evidence. Some, however, believe that there was a far more sinister motive.

"I find it more likely he brought acid as a method of torture [and] experimented with it," Washington, D.C.-based criminal profiler Pat Brown told The Huffington Post.

There were no signs of forced entry in any of the cases. Because of the similarities in the victim's sexual orientations and the fact that many of the men used Internet dating websites, local activists and media outlets have suggested that a serial killer could be responsible.

Earlier today, IOL News reported a possible fifth victim: Manolis Veloudos, a choreographer and dancer from Hyde Park, Johannesburg. Veloudos was found dead in his Greenside home in April 2010. Like the other victims, Veloudos was bound and murdered. Unlike the others, he was bludgeoned to death with his laptop.

According to Veloudos' niece, Evita Veloudos, there was surveillance camera footage of her uncle with an unknown man on the night of the murder. But IOL News reported that authorities have since lost the footage. If he was a murdered by the same killer, that would make Veloudos the first victim in the case.

The South African Police Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

Speaking today with Looklocal News, SAPS provincial spokesperson Lt. Col. Lungile Dlamini said that the murders are being investigated as individual cases.

"We have excluded robbery as a motive but, at this stage, there is no further information that may suggest that the incidents are the work of a serial killer. Police are still following leads to identify suspects," Dlamini said.

Not everyone, however, is convinced.

"It would be remiss of investigating authorities to not consider possible links," Welman told The Star.

Brown agreed.

"There is unquestionably a serial killer loose in South Africa -- at least one," Brown told The Huffington Post. "Since there are Internet dating sites involved, no signs of breaking or entering, wine on the table, no items of major value missing and no sign of a struggle prior to the binding, we can eliminate burglary or hate killing as the motive. ... This is a serial killer who likes to watch his victims die -- a common enjoyment of most serial killers."

The CGE has yet to respond to Dlamini's comments. In the statement provided to HuffPost, Baloyi condemned the murders and called for a full investigation.

"It is our firm belief that the Department of Constitutional Development and Department of Justice have to come to the party by ensuring that gay people receive the necessary attention and that these murders are properly investigated," Baloyi said.

It is only a matter of time, Brown warns, before the killer strikes again.

"The police definitely need to analyze the similarities and connections between these crimes," she said. "This is a serial killer who will likely continue, although now he may change areas or methods of meeting his victims."

MORE INFAMOUS SERIAL KILLERS

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• Jeffrey Dahmer

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• John Wayne Gacy

  John Wayne Gacy was arrested in 1978 after murdering 33 men and boys. He was known as the "Killer Clown" for his work as a children's entertainer. When Gacy became the suspect in a young man's disappearance, he invited police to his home for coffee. Cops noticed a smell that could emanate from a decaying body. They returned with a search warrant and found 29 victims stuffed into crawlspaces.

• David Berkowitz

  David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam" killer, terrorized New York with six murders and several other shootings that ended with his 1977. When police arrested him, Berkowitz, a mailman, said his neighbor's dog commanded him to strike. He's in Sing Sing prison In New York serving life, though he's eligible for parole.

• Angelo Buono

  Angelo Buono, a 47 year old auto upholsterer, sits in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday March 2, 1982 as he listens to opening arguments in the so called "Hillside Stranglings" case in which Buono is accused of killing 10 women and girls in the Los Angeles area between 1977 and 1978.

• Ted Bundy

  Ted Bundy at one time in the 1970s had a bright future in the Washington State Republican Party, but instead became one of the most famous serial killers and necrophiliacs. He often deceived his victims, all women, into thinking that he was injured and in need of help before attacking them. In 1976 he was arrested for an attempted kidnapping, but while acting as his own lawyer, he escaped. He migrated to Pensacola where he killed two women in a Florida Sate University sorority house. He was convicted of those murders and while on death row in 1989 he confessed to 50 other murders.

• Aileen Wuornos

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• Anthony Sowell

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• Richard Ramirez

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• Andrew Cunanan

  Andrew Cunanan is seen in this 1997 mugshot from the FBI. Cunanan murdered five men from Minneapolis to Miami, including fashion designer Gianni Versace. As investigators closed in on him, Cunanan committed suicide in 1997.

• Ed Gein

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• Gary Ridgway

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• Albert Fish

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• Coral Eugene Watts

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• Richard Angelo

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• Joseph Naso

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Comments

[Mike Davis 747]

08:42 PM on 10/17/2011

I guess this is South Africa's way of controlling the spread of AIDS.

[onegr8writer]

03:30 PM on 10/08/2011

Wow, I was way off ! I thought it meant he was targeting Happy men , until I heard the killer goes by the name Semen Demon .

[onegr8writer]

11:54 AM on 10/09/2011

Awww gee shucks ! Now you've gone and hurt my feelings cmfrtblebbw .

[robtral62961]

03:02 PM on 10/08/2011

I thought this was going on in America by the title of the artical. Personally I don't care what goes on in your bedroom it is your bedroom. What I do have a issue with is how the Gay Community insist on making out and gropping each other in Public in front of Children, and calling each other the N-word. People there is a time and place for this and in Public in front of Children is neither.

[p c r]

03:31 AM on 10/09/2011

You are generalizing. I have seen many more herterosexual couples "soul" kissing and groping each other in public than gay couples. Profanity is heard from many different types of people. Construction workers were cursing at the table next to my granddaughter and myself last week. I had to ask the waitress to ask them to tone it down, as a child was present.
There are inappropriate actions and language from many walks of people in public.

[robtral62961]

09:09 AM on 10/09/2011

You are right, I was just staying within the topic of the artical.

[Brian Workman]

02:58 PM on 10/08/2011

Another case where the Gay's want to be put ahead of the line just because they're Gay and for no other reason; ahead of ALL other murder investigations pending!!?
It's ALL ABOUT GAY's AGAIN!!!???

[p c r]

03:33 AM on 10/09/2011

They are asking for it to be investigated, not pushed under the carpet. The police are not investigating these murders as a possible serial killer.
No one is asking anyone to ignore other nurders. They are asking for attention to these. They have been going on since last December.
Your prejudices are showing.

[bshum3]

02:57 PM on 10/08/2011

Ignoring or condoning ?

[pasquamar]

06:26 AM on 10/18/2011

Exactly

[attydallas3]

02:36 PM on 10/08/2011

So how did they know these victims were all "~" ? Were they dressed funny or something?

[HRN-STL]

05:30 PM on 10/08/2011

The article said the victims used online dating sites so that may have helped identify the sexual orientation

[cmfrtblebbw]

08:58 AM on 10/09/2011

And we can tell you're a dumb lawyer by how you type.

[attydallas3]

01:09 PM on 10/09/2011

Ut oh - is that you, ComfortableOnAbbw??? ltns ..

[rosasturtles1]

02:04 PM on 10/08/2011

very sad....no one deserves to die this way gay or not..they were human beings with people who loved them..i hope justice will be served..rip

[BLMer]

01:54 PM on 10/08/2011

The police in South Africa leave a lot to be desired. Poor training and lack of understanding the crime. In my last trip to SA in 2006 a young daughter of a politician was assumed abducted. They searched the house and there were country wide news reports looking for her. Four days later they found her dead. No one had looked under her bed !

[geomcd]

01:39 PM on 10/08/2011

And it could be just a coincidence that this murderer is killing heterophobic men.

[p c r]

03:34 AM on 10/09/2011

No. You are making an assumption. Just because some is gay does not mean they are heterophobic. Just because someone is straight does not mean they are homophobic. Your statement is inaccurate and illogical.

[AdamWest1313]

03:56 AM on 10/09/2011

"heterophobic" Aaaand you just gave yourself away.

[averagezoe]

01:34 PM on 10/08/2011

It's heartwarming to see all the wonderful and compassionate comments on this site. We all know that homosexuals are perverted misfits who choose to indulge in a life of sin and need to be exterminated. Such a great and admirable sentiment! Perry, Bachmann and Palin need to take lessons from South Africa as to how to deal with this abomination. Quite frankly, most of what I've read posted on here makes me wish there was a serial killer on the loose in this country who targets bigots, zealots and religious freaks.

[cmfrtblebbw]

09:00 AM on 10/09/2011

Sorry, but your sarcasm is over the heads of your audience. And they don't even know what sardonic means.

[Stu4mev]

12:31 PM on 10/08/2011

And your proof is...............

[lklex]

11:50 AM on 10/08/2011

The lives of men (gay or straight) are cheap in South Africa just as they are in the USA. There is unquestionably a double standard when it comes to investigating, prosecuting and punishing crime. If a woman is the alleged victim, typically far more resources are devoted to investigation and prosecution, and the punishment is almost always more severe. When it comes to gender in the criminal justice system, the principle of "equal protection of the laws" (a key provision of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) all too often is more theoretical than real.

[bshum3]

03:01 PM on 10/08/2011

Race, age , gender , wealth and social status all play a role in how we view a person even as a victim .

[ghkusa]

11:50 AM on 10/08/2011

Some similarities, some differences, nothing definitive. Police should consider the possibility of a serial killer but with what they have it would be a mistake to disregard or downplay other theories or seemingly contrary evidence.

I think professional investigators prefer to consider various theories when evidence isn't conclusive or even convincing. Theories should be evidence-driven rather than determined by politics or pressure from activists or politicians.

There are probably better examples than the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing case, but I recall that outside pressure and a seeming determination to pin a murder on Richard Jewel may have delayed the eventual apprehension of the actual killer, Eric Robert Rudolph. Mr. Jewel had actually risked his life by calling attention to the bomb and starting to clear people from the scene.

Mr. Jewel (a/k/a, UnaBubba according to the fairly unbalanced "elite" media) was the perfect suspect for the media, being an overweight, white, Southern, non-Ivy League grad security guard -- especially since the suspect's targets included an abortion clinic and a gay bar. Politics and class bias trumped evidence for quite awhile in this case -- not to mention the near destruction of an innocent hero.

[alway right]

11:19 AM on 10/08/2011

How long does it take to review a comment before posting it? Are the NAZI censor police at it again on HUFF?

[alway right]

11:05 AM on 10/08/2011

Well, I have never seen a story come out of the AP regarding the systematic raping and murdering of white South Africans at the hands of the blacks. But as soon as someone goes after their beloved blacks or gays it becomes front page news. What type of mental defect causes someone to become an intellectually dishonest progressive? What did your parents to to you people to make you the way you are? Is it genetic or spiritual?

[grizznbuck]

11:51 AM on 10/08/2011

Something is wrong with you spiritually and mentally. Maybe god did it to them.

[philliplojek]

01:47 PM on 10/08/2011

Selective censorship. Many of my comments are not posted. There is no vulgarity or names mentioned on my part. HP does not like a very conservative viewpoint.