Africa-Press – South-Africa. It was an unusual stench. I thought some dead animals were hidden in our building.”
This was the account of someone who works in a building where the half-naked, decomposed bodies of six women were found on Sunday night.
According to the man, who declined to be identified, the stench was faint at first but became stronger in a matter of days.
“My colleagues and I became uncomfortable working [while there was] a heavy odour. We were battling even to eat our meals.
“It was unbearable. I first thought there were dead animals buried in our building. I became curious. I asked my colleagues to comb the area. On Sunday, we said enough was enough.
He said:
The man’s curiosity led police to the bodies of six semi-naked women.
“The [one] victim had her underwear below her knees. Her head and neck were covered with her skirt. All six had their hands and feet tied from behind,” he added.
A 21-year-old man has since been arrested in connection with the murder of the women.
The building where the bodies were found, situated on Sprinz Avenue in the Johannesburg CBD, used to be the home of a safety boots factory.
“Only two people had access to keys leading to the workshops. It was the person who had been arrested and the caretaker,” the man told News24.
Four of the bodies were found inside three different vehicles that were here to be fixed. One body was found hidden under garbage behind the building. The other woman was stuffed inside a waste bin,” he said.
“I haven’t eaten since Sunday. The sight of flies and maggots coming from those women’s bodies torments me. I can’t concentrate. This smell is still here. It doesn’t want to go away,” he added.
The man believes the decomposed bodies were there for more than a month.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said: “The police were called to the building due to a foul smell coming out of one of the rooms. That is when a body of a woman was found. Preliminary investigations led officers to a 21-year-old man who was last seen with the woman on 2 October.”
Muridili added that the woman’s clothing matched the description in a recent missing person’s report.
“Upon questioning the suspect, the police went back to the building and five more bodies were discovered outside the building where there is a makeshift workshop and rubbish dumpsters.
The five bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition and forensic analysis will be carried out to identify them.
“The suspect is expected to face six counts of murder in court,” Muridili added.
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