The Arrest

Whilst the profiling was underway, investigations at the site revealed that one of the victims found, Amelia Rapodile, had last been seen before an appointment to see a man, named Moses Sithole, on 7 September. A job application form was found, in which she was offered a position, and when a second victim showed a similar connection to Sithole, police were confident that they had unearthed a likely suspect. They were unable to locate Sithole, however, who continued with his killing spree, unfazed by the manhunt and media attention, and the body of Agnes Mbuli was discovered near Benoni on 3 October 1995.That same day, a phone call was received at “The Star” newspaper, from a man claiming to be the serial killer. As he seemed to have information not known to the general public, police were inclined to believe it was Sithole. An attempt to set up a meeting with him failed, however, and three more bodies were discovered over the next 10 days, forcing the police to release Sithole’s details to the media.With the manhunt now in the public domain, Sithole tried to seek assistance from family members, but undercover police intercepted him on 18 October 1995. Unwilling to go quietly, he was shot in the leg and stomach by a policeman, and hospitalised, operated on, and transferred to the secure Military Hospital in Pretoria, where Sithole admitted to numerous killings whilst being interviewed by detectives.He also denied ever having had an accomplice, and believed that some “copycat” murders had been executed using his modus operandi. A police claim, that he had waived his right to an attorney, whilst making his confession, was later denied in court. Five days later, on 23 October 1995, Moses Sithole was charged with 29 murders in the magistrates' court in Brakpan.On 3 November 1995 he was transported to Boksburg Prison, where he had served his rape sentence two years previously, to await his trial. During this time, press reports stated that he was HIV positive.