File
A search by Free State police for a missing person has now turned into a manhunt after the bodies of four people who were brutally murdered were discovered near a stream in Botshabelo.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Motantsi Makhele, said the first discovery was made on 22 January when two passers-by spotted the body of a man floating in the water.
He said the victim had sustained multiple stab wounds, and his hands and feet were tied while small bags of sand wrapped around the hands.
“The deceased is still unknown and police have opened a case of murder for further investigation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Makhele said on Thursday the decapitated and mutilated body of a 52-year-old woman was discovered near Sepone River. He said the deceased, Lebohang Khutsoane, was reported missing by her family on 29 January.
He said while police were combing the area for the deceased’s body parts they found the decomposed body of a woman floating in the water about 50 meters from the first scene.
“The body had bags full of stones fastened onto it to prevent it from floating. The deceased is unknown at this stage,” Makhele said.
The fourth grim discovery was made on Friday morning while SAPS members were continuing the investigation in the area around the crime scene.
Police said the family of the 43-year-old man still has to make a formal identification.
“All four bodies, two females and two males, had multiple stab wounds and were all found not far from each other inside the stream located in dense and thick vegetation on the other side of N8 adjacent to the railway line.
“It was also discovered that the suspect used stones from the railway tracks,” Makhele said.
He said a team of “skilled investigators” has been assigned to trace and arrest those involved in the gruesome murders”.
