Olievenhoutbosch Jane Doe was a woman found murdered in Olievenhoutbosch, Gauteng Province on 3 September 2002. She is the fifth victim of serial killer Richard Nyauza.
Case[]
The victim was located along the Riet River outside of Olievenhoutbosch township. Her cause of death was undetermined, but she was presumed to have been murdered, possibly by drowning.
Between January and September 2002, five unidentified women were discovered murdered alongside the Riet River. It was initially believed a serial killer named Elias Chauke, alias "Highwayman," was responsible, but he was incarcerated at the time of the murders. At the time, all of the leads were exhausted, and the case became inactive.
In September 2006, the DNA found on the fifth victim was matched to that of a man named Richard Nyauza, whose DNA was taken after his arrest for a 2002 attempted rape. Nyauza was subsequently arrested, and the evidence against him included his DNA from four victims, his possession of items belonging to his victims, such as cellphones, and his later pointing out seven crime scenes to the police. Reportedly, his motive was misogynistic revenge after his HIV diagnosis.
On November 5, 2007, Nyauza was convicted of 16 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, four counts of rape, and three counts of robbery. He was given 16 life sentences for the murders and an additional 140 years in prison for the rest of his crimes.
Sources[]
- Richard Nyauza on Wikipedia