Last week, Pretoria was shaken by the news that a man, then dubbed the ‘night crawler’ was killing homeless men in the Muckleneuk area of Tshwane.

The police assembled a special task force to investigate the murders and it looks like they’ve made some progress.

The team have requested the dockets of eight unsolved murders from August 2015, in the Eastern Cape, which they believe may be linked to the serial murders in Pretoria.

Here’s TimesLIVE with more:

A source with knowledge of the inquiry said the investigation team was looking at the unsolved East London murders to see if they could be linked.

“There are a number of similarities. They were all asleep and alone when they were stabbed and beaten. The victims were also all homeless, which is unique. It’s hoped information in those dockets will help police identify a profile of the Pretoria killer.”

East London police spokesperson Capt Hazel Mqala confirmed none of the murders – which she said were believed to have been committed by one person – had been solved.

The murders have left the homeless living in fear. Shelters have reported having to turn people away due to overcapacity as more and more seek safe accommodation.

“It feels like we are playing God. We could be sending people to their deaths,” said Moses Hlope, a supervisor at the Homeless Upliftment Project.

Since the killings began, they have been overwhelmed by the number of homeless coming to their centre. “In winter we usually get about 25 people. Now most nights we have over 50. Some nights it’s 70.”

Richard Mabizela, whose brother, Doctor, 23, lives on Pretoria’s streets, said their family fears for his safety. “Every night we wonder whether Doctor is safe.”

People unable to secure a place in a shelter have taken to sleeping in shifts.

Daniel Motshweni, who lives on Pretoria’s streets, described the killer as a ghost. “No- one knows him. No-one sees him. He comes only at night. All one sees are the bodies the next morning.”

He and his friends have to sleep on the streets because the shelters are full. “Everyone wants to get off the street, but there is not enough space. We go to the Union Buildings park to sleep because there are lights there. We take turns to stay awake. The Ghost is quick when he kills, so someone has to be awake at all times. If not, we are dead.”

The investigation is ongoing.

[source:timeslive]