News broke today of the passing of 67-year-old Piet Byleveld, and I’ll admit that the name didn’t ring a bell.

Sometimes, though, you read a description of someone you’ve never met and you can’t help but grin.

That’s certainly true for the TimesLive piece published earlier, who offer up this:

Byleveld‚ 67‚ a chain smoker who operated on Grandpa Powder mixed with Coke‚ brought notorious serial killers to book‚ including three of the worst that Johannesburg‚ and South Africa‚ has ever seen.

I get the feeling he would have been very interesting to have over for dinner.

That story comes with a picture that adds to the chain smoker tag:

Byleveld passed away from lung cancer at the Life Wilgeheuwel Hospital in Roodepoort, Jozi.

He retired from the SAPS back in 2010, having served for 38 years, and of course had some sage advice for those wanting to emulate him:

“A good detective must have a passion for his job. You must accept that there’s no regular working hours‚ no time for holidays. You have to be totally dedicated to solving a particular case. When I put my mind to tracking down a killer‚ I don’t easily give up‚ even if the investigation lasts for years. I hate losing.”

It’s obvious from the long list of successful investigations that he doesn’t let up easily:

Cedric Maake‚ the Wemmer Pan Killer also known as the Hammer Killer‚ raped 14 women and murdered 27 between 1996 and 1997…Convicted in 2000‚ he was served a 1‚340-year prison sentence for his reign of terror in southern Johannesburg…

Mine dump serial child killer Sipho Dube Mhlangathi was caught in 2004…Mhlangathi‚ who used to drink a beer concoction containing battery acid‚ received 10 life sentences and 114 years in jail…

Byleveld’s skill also led to the arrest of the Nasrec Killer. Lazarus Mazingane [above-image source HERE] was sentenced to 17 life terms and more than 700 years in prison for 16 murders and 22 rapes for crimes committed between 1993 and 1998.

The renowned investigator famously also solved the kidnap and murder of Leigh Matthews‚ 21‚ who disappeared from Johannesburg’s Bond University campus.

Given the sheer number of awful humans he helped lock up behind bars, perhaps we should raise a glass (and light a ciggie) in his honour this evening.

[source:timeslive]