University of Venda serial killer case postponed

21 October 2014 - 16:13 By Sapa
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University of Venda. File photo.
University of Venda. File photo.
Image: wikimedia commons

A university student linked to four murders, a rape and an assault in and around the University of Venda appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, Limpopo police said.

Godfrey Ntsieni, 24, allegedly killed two women and two children, aged eight and nine, in separate incidents.

The matter was postponed to December 10 for outstanding evidence to be finalised, said Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.

Ntsieni was charged on 16 counts -- four of murder, one of attempted murder, five of rape, three of aggravated robbery and three charges of kidnapping.

He was arrested in July at a student accommodation house in Thohoyandou Unit C, said provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Fannie Masemola at the time.

University cleaner Brenda Ndove, 45, was stabbed to death on Friday July 18 and her personal items stolen. Her body was found near the university's administration block.

A student, Shudufhadzo Sandy Thagisa, 20, was hospitalised after she was assaulted and robbed in May. She has since been discharged from hospital.

Ntsieni was found in possession of Thagisa's student identification card and cellphone.

"Also found in his possession was a cellphone belonging to the late Brenda Ndove and a hairpin belonging to another murdered woman, Livhuwani Mbodi," Masemola said.

Mbodi, 22, was found dead on the university's premises in March.

"Like the discovery which was made when the body of Ndove was recovered, Mbodi's head also had a deep wound at the back, with other wounds on her back, seemingly caused by the act of pulling her from the original scene of crime to the dumping place," Masemola said.

Investigations revealed Mbodi was raped before she was murdered.

The bodies of two girls, aged eight and nine, were found next to a cemetery in Golgotha, near the university. They were believed to have been kidnapped from their schools.

Nine-year-old Tshililo Ndou's body was found in a yard at Golgotha village, in walking distance of the university's premises, in April.

"Investigations also revealed that the little girl endured a rape ordeal before being strangled," he said.

Eight-year-old Zwivhuya Alice Mashau's body was found a stone's throw from the university between two piles of sand in June, Masemola said.

She was also strangled after being raped.

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