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Johannesburg - A university student linked to four murders, a rape and an assault in and around the University of Venda appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court on Thursday, Limpopo police said.
The 24-year-old, who cannot be named as he has not pleaded yet to the sex crimes included in the charges he faces, allegedly killed two women and two children, aged eight and nine, in separate incidents.
The matter was postponed to 21 October for further investigation, said Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.
The court charged him with 16 counts, including four charges of murder, one charge of attempted murder, five charges of rape, three charges of aggravated robbery and three charges of kidnapping.
He was arrested around 19:00 on Tuesday at a student accommodation house in Thohoyandou Unit C, said provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola at the time.
University cleaner Brenda Ndove, 45, was stabbed to death on Friday and her personal items stolen. Her body was found near the university's administration block.
A student, Shudufhadzo Sandy Thagisa, 20, was hospitalised after she was assaulted and robbed in May. She has since been discharged from hospital.
The man was found in possession of Thagisa's student identification card and cellphone.
"Also found in his possession was a cellphone belonging to the late Brenda Ndove and a hairpin belonging to another murdered woman, Livhuwani Mbodi," Masemola said.
Mbodi, 22, was found dead on the university's premises in March.
"Like the discovery which was made when the body of Ndove was recovered, Mbodi's head also had a deep wound at the back, with other wounds on her back, seemingly caused by the act of pulling her from the original scene of crime to the dumping place," Masemola said.
Investigations revealed Mbodi was raped before she was murdered.
The bodies of two girls, aged eight and nine, were found next to a cemetery in Golgotha, near the university. They were believed to have been kidnapped from their schools.
Nine-year-old Tshililo Ndou's body was found in a yard at Golgotha village, a walking distance from the university's premises, in April.
"Investigations also revealed that the little girl endured a rape ordeal before being strangled to death," he said.
Eight-year-old Zwivhuya Alice Mashau's body was found a stone's throw away from the university between two piles of sand in June, Masemola said.
She was also strangled after being raped.
