Treat these as possible serial murders until proven otherwise: forensic psychologist on Ekurhuleni women’s deaths

The deaths of women whose bodies have been discovered in Ekurhuleni should be treated as a possible serial-murder investigation until evidence proves otherwise, according to investigative forensic psychologist Prof Gerard Labuschagne.

His comments come as police investigate the deaths of several women whose bodies have been found in and around Ekurhuleni in the past two months.

On Tuesday, the body of a sixth victim was discovered in KwaThema, and police confirmed that a seventh body had been discovered in Clayville near Thembisa on September 7.

Police have not confirmed that the deaths are the work of a serial killer.

Labuschagne, who has extensive experience in the investigation of serial murder cases, said the geographical proximity of the cases, the timeframe in which the murders occurred and the similarities among the victims’ profiles were enough to warrant treating the cases as potentially connected.

“Due to the relatively close geographic proximity and timeframe of the murders and the similar victimology, it makes sense to treat this as a serial (murder investigation) until information to the contrary comes to light,” Labuschagne said.

Labuschagne stressed, however, that he could not definitively say a serial killer was responsible because he has not been directly involved in the investigation and does not have access to all the information available to police.

Even if the cases prove to be the work of separate offenders they will get far more attention as part of a dedicated task team focusing on them.—  Prof Gerard Labuschagne, investigative forensic psychologist

Instead, he said the pattern should trigger the procedures contained in the South African Police Service’s policy on serial murder investigations. Labuschagne said this meant certain specialists, like the Investigative Psychology Section and trained serial murder investigators, form a task team with the necessary resources.

“There are still some very experienced serial murder investigators … who should be involved in something like this. Other units, like the Victim Identification Centre of Forensics, should be assisting to identify the bodies.”

He said treating a series of murders as a possible serial-murder investigation does not mean investigators have concluded that the same offender is responsible.

“Even if the cases prove to be the work of separate offenders they will get far more attention as part of a dedicated task team focusing on them,” Labuschagne said.

He said the definition used by SAPS’s Investigative Psychology Section of a serial killer is based on the generally accepted FBI definition, that it is two separate murders committed by the same person.

That means establishing a serial-murder case ultimately requires investigators to establish a connection between separate killings and attribute them to the same offender.

The presence of several bodies in one geographical area, therefore, does not by itself prove the existence of a serial killer.

But clustering can be an important investigative warning sign.

“Clustering of victims in a small geographical area is a common feature of serial murderers across the world,” Labuschagne said.

He said the reluctance of authorities to publicly describe the deaths as the work of a serial killer may have several explanations. One possibility is that police do not want to publicly link cases before they have sufficient evidence to support the connection.

“If the cases aren’t linked they will look stupid having called it so,” he said.

Another possibility, he said, is concern that using the term could create unnecessary public panic, but said the cases were already causing panic anyway, whether it is a serial killer or not.

He also cautioned that the public does not know everything investigators know. “Maybe they have information that the cases aren’t linked . We don’t know what they know,” he said.

However, chair of the portfolio committee on police, Ian Cameron, said the public must be careful not to claim links that investigators have not established.

“SAPS has not said that all six cases are connected and the circumstances surrounding the KwaThema discovery are still emerging,” Cameron said on Tuesday, before the police announced the discovery of a seventh body.

He said what was important was that the police had already established a multidisciplinary team involving specialist detectives, forensic experts, tracking capability, K9 resources and investigative psychology.

“I also believe SAPS was being responsible to warn women to remain vigilant while the possibility of a serial offender is being considered.

“This caution is not about creating panic. It is about being open with communities about a potential risk while investigators establish the facts. The public can now play an important role in supporting this investigation.”