Rossway Quarry Jane Doe was the seventh victim of serial killer Richard Nyauza. She was the second of his to be found near the Rossway Quarry.
Case[]
The victim was discovered near Rossway Quarry, Gauteng Province, on 8 January 2006. Her cause of death was undetermined but is presumed to be a homicide. She was the second of 11 women whose bodies were found near the quarry in 2006.
Four years earlier, five unidentified women were found murdered 2.8 kilometers (~1.74 miles) from the 2006 crime scenes alongside the Riet River outside of Olievenhoutbosch township. Authorities linked the 2002 and 2006 crime scenes due to the close proximity. They also initially suspected a serial killer named Elias Chauke, alias "Highwayman," was responsible for the Riet River murders, but he was incarcerated at the time of the Rossway Quarry murders, hence was ruled out.
In September 2006, DNA found on the fifth victim at the Riet River matched that to Richard Nyauza, whose DNA was taken after his arrest for a 2002 attempted rape. Additional evidence against Nyauza includes 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, he had lured his victim through the promise of jobs and that his motive was misogynistic revenge after his HIV diagnosis.
On 5 November 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[]
- IOL
- Richard Nyauza on Wikipedia