Decade-long hunt for suspected KZN serial rapist ends after DNA link to 16 women - TimesLIVE

For more than a decade, women of Cato Manor in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, have faced a predator who followed them home from taverns, attacked them at night and, in some instances, broke into their homes armed with a knife.

The attacks, which police say began in 2014, spanned 11 years before the arrest of a 46-year-old suspect on Thursday.

Investigators believe the man is connected to 16 rapes, 14 of which took place in Cato Manor, with the other two reported in Plessislaer and Taylor’s Halt near Pietermaritzburg.

KwaZulu-Natal police said on Saturday that the arrest followed an intensive investigation by specialised units working to establish links between the cases.

“A suspected serial rapist who was terrorising women in Cato Manor was arrested on Thursday after intensive investigations by police investigators who are members of the serial and electronic crime investigation unit and the investigative psychology unit, which are within the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit.”

The suspect is accused of targeting women as they returned home from taverns, allegedly following them before attacking and robbing them.

“The 46-year-old suspect allegedly started his raping spree in 2014, and between that year and 2025 he had allegedly raped 14 women in Cato Manor and a woman each in Plessislaer and Taylor’s Halt,” police said.

The allegations suggest a pattern of attacks across different communities, with investigators now seeking to establish the full extent of the suspect’s alleged activities.

“The suspect was operating mostly at night, and his modus operandi was to follow women of different ages from taverns to their homes, where he reportedly raped them and robbed them of their belongings.

“In some instances, the suspect allegedly broke into houses and raped his victims at knifepoint, especially vulnerable women who were living alone.

“The victims could not identify the suspect because he reportedly disguised his face by wearing pantyhose. However, police detectives and investigators from the specialised units connected the dots, established a modus operandi, and linked the suspect through DNA.”

Police did not specify how the DNA evidence was collected, when investigators first identified the suspect or whether the forensic evidence linked him to all 16 rapes.

Police also did not disclose whether the suspect had previously been questioned in connection with any of the incidents.

The man is scheduled to appear in the Durban magistrate’s court on Monday, where he will face multiple charges, including rape, housebreaking and attempted murder.

Police did not indicate whether further charges could be added as the investigation progresses.

It has also not yet been established if investigators believe there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward.

This arrest comes in the midst of national outrage about the discovery of nine women’s bodies in Ekurhuleni in the past few weeks.