Africa News
Report: Gay murders in South Africa could be work of serial killer
Oct 3, 2011, 8:29 GMT
Johannesburg - A serial killer or a homophobic group may be behind the deaths of four gay men over in and around the South African city of Johannesburg over the past 10 months, The Star newspaper reported on Monday.
The victims were found strangled to death in their homes and police do not regard robbery as the main motive, according to the report.
The latest murder took place on September 19.
The 1990s saw several high-profile serial murder cases in Johannesburg, including that of Moses Sithole who was found to have killed 38 women and Cedric Maake, who killed at least 27.
An expert quoted by the newspaper warned gays using dating websites against inviting strangers into their homes. It appears that at least two of the victims had used online matchmaking services.
Although South Africa has a constitution that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, intolerance of homosexuality is still a problem.
Over the last year, several lesbian activists have been targeted in homophobic killings.
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