Since the beginning of June, 5 homeless men have been murdered in the Muckleneuk area in Tshwane, South Africa. The most recent victim has been described as a very friendly man who kept to himself.
No one knew his name or anything about him, but his body was discovered in Magnolia Park on June 8. The man has reportedly been living there for more than a year.
Mostly known by the people who took care of the park like; park guards, the staff at the Huckleberry’s restaurant and others.
Several people say that while the man acted strangely, he was non-violent and eventually became a familiar and friendly face in the park.
The manager of Huckleberry’s, Chris Letswalo, said when the man first appeared in the park almost a year ago, they tried to chase him away, fearing that he might harass patrons at the restaurant, but he soon realized the homeless man meant no harm.
“On two occasions, we tried chasing him away, but he didn’t respond to us. He was acting like he was deaf, only to find out [later] that he was very friendly,” Letswalo said.
They added that the man exhibited a strange behavior of not saying a word. “[He] wouldn’t even spend five minutes with us. Sometimes you would offer him a cigarette he would refuse to take it and rather pick up stomps from the ground,” one car guard said.
Police launched a manhunt for the killer after the first two bodies were discovered in the park. The first two bodies were found in the Magnolia park and the third in Mears Park Train Station.
Magnolia Park and Mears Park Train Station are in close proximity to one another.
It appeared they were murdered in the same way. “Though the deceased were found to have suffered blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds to the upper body. The motives behind the killing and their identities remain subject to an investigation,” police spokesperson Captain Daniel Mavimbela said.