THE suspect's dad, Mark Khumalo, described how the bodies of the five sex workers were discovered.
Mark was testifying in the trial of his son Sifiso Mkhwanazi in the Joburg High Court sitting in Palm Ridge, Ekurhuleni on Tuesday, 6 February.
The 21-year-old is facing charges of six counts of murder, seven counts of rape, six counts of obstructing the administration of justice, robbery with aggravating circumstances and unauthorised possession of firearms and ammunition.
The charges stem from the discovery of six female bodies at the site of a panel beater workshop in Rosettenville, south of Joburg in October 2022.
He said after police officers removed the first body, which was found in one of his unused offices, only a few officers remained.
Mark said that together with the caretaker, Michael Damian, and the security guards, he decided to clean the place.
"We then agreed to hire people outside the building to clean the premises. When we were cleaning, we saw that the drain was blocked with bandages. When we tried to unblock the drain, we saw some flies, others were flying around the chimney. Then when we looked into the chimney, we saw a human body tied up with green wires," Mark said.
ALSO READ: Sex worker murders: 'Killer' nailed by own dad
He said this was the second body found on the property and the police officer then called his colleagues back.
Mark said Damian suggested they search the entire place for more bodies.
"One of the security guards saw a dustbin with a tyre on it. When he went to check the bin, he came across the plastic covering the third body near the old wooden doors," he said.
He said the fourth body was found in the bin, which was covered with a tyre.
Mark said the last two bodies were found in a broken-down panel van and a truck.
"There was a broken-down Nissan panel van. We looked inside and saw dead flies. The car was always open, but that day we could not open it, all the doors were locked. We used a hammer and a chisel to open the doors and found a body wrapped in plastic," said Mark.
He said there was a two-ton truck behind the van.
"We opened the front doors and there was nothing there. We went to the back and there was a lock. The vehicle was not supposed to have a lock. We broke the lock and saw a trolly bin. There was another body in the bin," Mark said.
The state said five of the six bodies found at the site showed signs of being strangled and the other body had gunshot wounds. Of the six sex workers' bodies, two were pregnant when they lost their lives.
The state prosecutor, Advocate Leswikane Mashabela, asked Mark how the gun allegedly got into the hands of the accused.
Mark said he doesn't know because he had the keys to the safe where he keeps his gun.
