[imagesource: Timothy Bernard / African News Agency (ANA)]

What started out as whispers and social media posts has morphed into a terrifying ordeal for residents of Jozi’s upmarket northern suburbs.

On April 7, an arsonist struck again in lower Houghton, with residents describing him as a “total nutter”.

Later that month, security cameras captured an image of a suspect the same night he allegedly entered a home, ate strawberries, helped himself to cash, set fire to a room downstairs, and left through the front door.

Here’s where things get really ugly – he allegedly locked the couple in the house with their own keys and they had to be rescued after hitting the panic button.

In a recent segment, Carte Blanche took a closer look at the spate of arson attacks and how they stack up:

Are Johannesburg’s affluent northern suburbs being terrorised by someone with an appetite for fire? Recently, at least 11 upmarket homes have been broken into and set alight, raising fears that an arsonist is at work.

But does the evidence support that conclusion? In some cases, valuables were stolen while in others the homeowners appear to have been deliberately attacked.

Yet, despite the different modus operandi, the suspect or suspects’ penchant for fire has investigators puzzled. Carte Blanche investigates.

Since that segment aired, another incident has occurred.

Last Friday night in Hurlingham, firefighters extinguished a fire that had started while the owners were away. Andre Snyman of eBlockwatch told TimesLIVE that investigators cannot rule out a link between this fire and others linked to the arson attacks in the area.

“The one room was burnt slightly, the fire guys got here quickly. There is still a R100,000 reward and all the security companies are very keen to catch this guy,” he said…

This week Snyman told TimesLIVE that an elderly Houghton resident Risto Andjelopoli, who was assaulted and locked inside his home before it was set alight last month, had died in hospital.

It’s no wonder that residents have been advised to ensure their home security systems are in working order.

Here’s the Carte Blanche segment which recently aired:

[sources:carteblanche&timeslive]