A FREE State man alleged to be a serial killer yesterday denied being involved in the murder of three women and a 15-year-old teenager.

Thabang Mohorosi, 31, pleaded not guilty in the Bloemfontein High Court.

It is alleged Mohorosi went on a crime spree between May 2010 and April 2011.

Police first recovered the body of an unknown adult woman in an open veld between Mangaung's Phase 5 and Phase 6 residential areas.

The body was badly decomposed and could not be identified.

The woman has since been given a pauper's funeral as there was no one to identify her.

The cause of her death was strangulation, and she was allegedly raped before being strangled.

Police officer Khotso Thekiso said he had tried looking for the deceased's relatives and could not find any.

He said that on December 23 2010 police had discovered another victim, the half-naked body of Mantoa Mohapi, "not far from where the first body was found".

Mohapi had disappeared on December 1 2010.

It is alleged that Mohorosi also killed a 15-year-old girl.

On February 18 2011, another victim - Palesa Constance Thakho - was found murdered.

She was last seen walking way home from school in Mangaung.

Her mother reported her missing the following day.

It is alleged that Mohorosi accosted Palesa, grabbed her and dragged her to an area in the veld, where he allegedly raped and killed her.

Palesa was strangled and her decomposed and half-naked body was found 12 days later, lying under a tree.

"The body was discovered by a police dog," Thekiso said.

"We had received information from Palesa's schoolmates that she was seen being dragged by an unknown man in the vicinity."

The body was found metres away from where Mohapi's body had been discovered.

On April 28 2011, police also recovered the body of Xoliswa Cynthia Talape.

She was last seen alive on April 18 2011.

She was allegedly raped before being murdered.

Her body was found at Uitsig in Bloemfontein.

Thekiso said: "After his arrest last year, the accused revealed Talape's body to us.

"He said he was not sure if the body had been found.

"He took the police to the scene where the body was recovered."

- ntawagaes@sowetan.co.za

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Sun May 19 09:44:20 SAST 2013 ::

May 8, 2012

Hoshpelepelewa26Zikuphi

Faolang satane e!
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