‘His space will be empty’: Top cop dies among family

Former top detective Piet Byleveld died yesterday, after losing a short battle with stage four lung cancer.

“It is with sadness and a great sense of loss that our beloved Piet signed off on his final case today, around noon, at the Life Wilgeheuwel clinic, where he succumbed to cancer,” his family said in a statement released by Nelson Mandela’s former personal assistant, Zelda la Grange.

“Piet was surrounded by his closest family at the time of passing. To South Africa and the world, Piet was the top cop,” the family statement read.

“To us he was more; he was the best husband, father, brother, grandfather and friend. He will be dearly missed. Right now, life without him is unimaginable and his space will be empty.”

Private investigator Chad Thomas said he had known Byleveld for many years: “He was an old-school detective who followed every lead. He took his job seriously and put South Africa on the map when it came to solving serial killer investigations.”

Byleveld spent 38 years in the police, retiring in 2010 after solving some of SA’s most complex murders.

He was commanding officer of the Murder and Robbery Unit, as well as the Serious Violent Crimes Unit in Johannesburg.

In the book Byleveld: Dossier of a Serial Sleuth, author and journalist Hanlie Retief says the International Police Association honoured him as one of the world’s top three detectives.

He assisted the FBI, Scotland Yard, the Canadian police and Mossad with their serial-killer investigations.

“For each trial, Piet prepares six files: for the judge, his two assessors, the state, the accused, and the defence,” she wrote.

Byleveld was awarded the South African Police Service Commendation Medal, awarded to a member who distinguished him or herself “by rendering services of a particular meritorious or exemplary nature”, and risking their life saving the lives of others.

Some of the high-profile cases he solved included the Sheldean Human murder, Leigh Matthews’ kidnapping and murder, the Hillbrow serial rapist and the Kranskop serial killer.

In 2002, Lazarus Mazingane, the so-called Nasrec serial killer and rapist, was given 17 life sentences and more than 700 years’ imprisonment after Byleveld tracked him down.

Funeral arrangements will be announced.

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