The Advertiser has compiled a list of these cold cases, while police continue to ask for the public to assist by providing further leads.
Recently obtained records revealed that our local police stations have a backlog of dozens of unsolved cases which have gone cold.
Below are some of the more notorious crimes on the police records:
Family still hunting for answers in 2013 murder of son
It’s been more than two years since 10-year-old Siphamandla Madikane was brutally murdered and his body dumped in the bushes near Elsburg Road, Ramaphosa.
Despite a full-scale investigation into the matter, nobody has been charged in this murder and the case subsequently went cold.
The little boy’s body was partially burnt and had multiple slash wounds to the neck.
A special team of investigators, consisting of 36 experienced detectives, was immediately set up to investigate the matter, but no arrest has yet been made.
The information witnesses gave to the police was that the boy was last seen playing with other children, when an unknown man apparently kidnapped him – but all the leads have gone cold.
If you know anything that can help in this investigation, call the Reiger Park police on 011 916 7000.
Taegrin Morris’s murder hits 21 months without answers
It’s been more than 21 months since Taegrin Morris (4) was mercilessly dragged to his death, but nobody has been formally charged with any crime in relation to the case.
Chantal Morris had loaded her son, Taegrin, and the boy’s sister, Erim, into their VW Golf outside their grandmother’s house in Reiger Park when three hijackers held guns to her head, demanding the car keys.
The hijackers got into the VW Golf, and sped off with Taegrin’s leg still trapped in his seat-belt, and with him hanging helplessly out of the door.
In the weeks that followed, a man from Katlehong, whom the family apparently identified as one of the suspects, was brought in and questioned in the case, but he was never charged with any crime in relation to the case.
Although SAPS management gave the assurance that detectives would do their best to bring the criminals responsible for the incident to book, no one has ever been named a suspect and police currently do not have any new leads.
A R50 000 reward was offered to anyone with information that might lead to the arrests of the hijackers, but the money did nothing to persuade anyone to come clean.
The family was, in 2014, convinced that their son died at the hand of someone they knew, possibly someone they once classed as a family friend.
Elderly woman found brutally murdered in Parkrand
No arrest has been made in connection with the barbaric attack on a 74-year-old woman, who was found brutally murdered in her house in Langenhoven Street, Parkrand, in November last year.
The elderly woman’s bloodied body was found lying in her garage, buried under heavy objects, including a steel structure and a wooden bridge.
The killing was strongly condemned by both the police and community members.
The police have confirmed that nothing new has developed in the case, but they are hoping for information that may help them bring the matter to a close.
Anyone with information in this regard is urged to contact the investigating officer, Det W/O Rudi Venter, on 011 841 6870/074 886 9754.
Woman gunned down
It’s been more than four months since a middle-aged woman was gunned down in her house in Blue Sky, near Cason, and the detective in charge of the case still has no answers.
The gunman came out of nowhere and shot the woman dead.
It was revealed that the murder left police puzzled, and the incident is fast becoming one of those dead-end cases, as every lead has fizzled out.
Anyone with information in this regard is urged to contact the investigating officer, Aubrey Mashego on 079 071 0001.
No answers in death of woman found in lake
No arrests have been made in connection with the woman who was bludgeoned to death, before her naked body was dumped in the Boksburg Lake.
The body of the woman, believed to be in her 50s, was found floating in the lake, early this year, but her identity, and that of her killer/s, remains a mystery. Medical examinations revealed that she was strangled and hit with a hard object.
She is described as a white woman, in her 50s, with a leaf tattooed on her right shoulder. Investigators believe she was either from Boksburg or the surrounding towns.
Investigators are urging those who may have known or seen her before she was found in the lake to phone the investigating officer Det W/O Rudi Venter on 011 841 6870/074 886 9754.
Security guard shot dead
Despite an intensive investigation, the gunman who fatally shot a security guard, whose body was found along Commissioner Street in Delmore Gardens in March last year, is still on the loose.
The guard, identified as Terence Swinney, sustained a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Despite an exhaustive investigation, all the leads dried up and detectives are still no closer to identifying the killer.
If you have any information regarding Swinney’s case, contact the Reiger Park police on 011-916-7000.
Former policeman wanted for murder of colleague
A former police officer, suspected of fatally stabbing his colleague, Const Cynthia Mokwe early in 2014, is still at large.
The suspect and Mokwe were an item, and both worked at the Reiger Park SAPS. A passerby found Mokwe lying on the ground outside her Ramaphosa home, covered in blood.
Her boyfriend was later arrested and charged with murder.
The court, however, refused to put the case on the roll, due to a lack of evidence, resulting in the suspect being released.
Investigators stuck to their guns on this issue, and eventually managed to gather enough evidence to link the boyfriend to the brutal attack and the case was later enrolled.
After being summoned to court, the suspect disappeared and has not been found since.
Will Khoza’s 2014 murder case ever be solved?
Nearly two years have ticked by since Andy Khoza was killed, but police are still clueless about the murder.
They are hoping that members of the public may give them some clue about the person who pulled the trigger. Khoza was, at the time of his death, chairperson of the Reiger Park Taxi Association.
He was gunned down while driving along Elsburg Road, between Reiger Park and Ramaphosa, in May, 2014.
A mystery gunman reportedly came out of nowhere and started opening fire on Khoza’s car, while driving near the traffic light at the intersection of Elsburg and Archie roads.
Khoza tried to dodge the hail of bullets by driving away along Elsburg Road, but the persistent gunman pursued him and cornered him about 400m from the traffic lights.
Nobody has been officially charged in connection with the murder, but rumour has it that there is a man who was arrested for a similar incident in December last year. Investigators are trying to link the suspect to Khoza’s murder.
If you have information that could help the investigators, call the Reiger Park SAPS on 011 916 7000.
Will the killers of Senzo Meyiwa ever be found?
April will mark 17 months since the Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana captain and goalkeeper was shot dead, but his murder case remains unsolved.
Meyiwa died after he was shot by intruders during a house robbery in Vosloorus. A Vosloorus man was later arrested and pointed out at an identity parade as Meyiwa’s killer.
After several days of detention, charges against the man were withdrawn and he was released from custody.
Police followed up on every lead, took statements from several people and brought in several people for questioning. They also put a R250 000 reward on the table for anyone who can help them solve the case, but none of these efforts provided a breakthrough in the case.
Despite an intensive investigation, finding the person responsible for the death of Meyiwa has proven difficult.
Since the Vosloorus man was cleared, there hasn’t been a lead suspect, and the murder is fast becoming a cold case.
The SAPS has recently joined forces with the Hawks to try to solve Meyiwa’s murder.
Police are still appealing for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers. Anyone with information should call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Taxi boss gunned down
Police are still trying to solve the murder of 42-year-old Lance Martin, of Reiger Park, who was fatally shot in his taxi, which was parked at the newly constructed Ramaphosa Taxi Rank, in August 2015.
The unknown assailant, who emerged from nowhere and fired multiple shots, killing Martin, has left the police with more questions than answers.
The motive for the attack is still unclear, but it is believed that Martin was killed in revenge over an earlier Windmill Park shooting, in which another taxi owner, going by the name of Herbert Oliphant, was gunned down.
Police have admitted that they have no firm leads and are hoping there’s someone who knows something or has some information that can result in this crime being solved and finding some closure for the family.
If you have any information that can help crack this case, contact the investigating officer, W/O Simon Madonsela. on 011 916 7000.
Gruesome discovery: scavenger stumbles upon burnt body
March 23 will mark six months since a passerby stumbled upon the brutalised body of an unidentified man in the open veld (southern side of Commissioner Street), opposite Delmore Gardens in September last year.
Police are still trying to establish who this person is and what the circumstances of his death are.
Next to the burnt body of the man, believed to be in his 30s, police found a wallet containing bank cards and a photo of a woman, and they believe that these items could help them to identify the suspect and to push the case forward.
Investigators are urging anyone who have information to contact the investigating officer, Det W/O Ben Oliphant, on 011 916 7000.
