B1 Butcher’s victim remains nameless

WERNER MENGES THE identity of a woman whose dissected torso was found in a rubbish bin next to the B1 road between Windhoek and Okahandja almost four weeks ago remains unknown to the Police, despite the discovery east of the city on Wednesday of a human head and other body parts that could be connected to the torso.

The tight lid the Namibian Police have, for the most part, kept on information on the investigation of the death of the person whose torso was found some 42 kilometres north of Windhoek on June 17 remained in position yesterday, in the wake of a second subsequent discovery o f human body parts close to the capital. The only new information released by the Police’s Public Relations and Liaison Division a day after the discovery of a human head, two lower legs and two feet lying next to the B6 road between Windhoek and the Hosea Kutako International Airport on Wednesday morning, was that it is suspected that these body parts, the torso and two human thighs that were found next to the B1 road between Windhoek and Rehoboth on June 20 are indeed parts of one person.Even that, however, cannot at this stage be confirmed while scientific proof is not yet available, the Commanding Officer of the Public Relations Unit, Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu said.He added that the identity of the woman has not been established yet either.It is still estimated that she had been some 1,7 metres tall, he said.The Police earlier stated that it also estimated that the woman weighed some 52 kilograms when alive.The latest ?nd of body parts took place some 35 km east of Windhoek.Giving an extra macabre touch to an already grisly case was the discovery that the three middle toes of each foot were cut off.Amulungu stated on Wednesday that, while it cannot determined how long these human remains had been lying where they were found, they did not appear to be decomposing yet, as the face was still recognisable.Both the torso and the two thighs are thought to have been chilled in a freezer or fridge before being deposited in the rubbish bins where they were later found.If the same person had discarded the body parts that were found north, south and east of the city since June 17, and that person is based in Windhoek, it would mean that on three occasions he or she had been able to pass undetected through permanent Police roadblocks between the city and the places where the parts were found.Amulungu commented that without proper equipment and aids like sniffer dogs it would remain difficult for the Police at the roadblocks to determine that someone was transporting human body parts in his or her vehicle, rather than for instance frozen meat.Getting the correct equipment however has financial implications, turning it into something that political decision- makers would have to decide about, he said.The only new information released by the Police’s Public Relations and Liaison Division a day after the discovery of a human head, two lower legs and two feet lying next to the B6 road between Windhoek and the Hosea Kutako International Airport on Wednesday morning, was that it is suspected that these body parts, the torso and two human thighs that were found next to the B1 road between Windhoek and Rehoboth on June 20 are indeed parts of one person.Even that, however, cannot at this stage be confirmed while scientific proof is not yet available, the Commanding Officer of the Public Relations Unit, Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu said.He added that the identity of the woman has not been established yet either.It is still estimated that she had been some 1,7 metres tall, he said.The Police earlier stated that it also estimated that the woman weighed some 52 kilograms when alive.The latest ?nd of body parts took place some 35 km east of Windhoek.Giving an extra macabre touch to an already grisly case was the discovery that the three middle toes of each foot were cut off.Amulungu stated on Wednesday that, while it cannot determined how long these human remains had been lying where they were found, they did not appear to be decomposing yet, as the face was still recognisable.Both the torso and the two thighs are thought to have been chilled in a freezer or fridge before being deposited in the rubbish bins where they were later found.If the same person had discarded the body parts that were found north, south and east of the city since June 17, and that person is based in Windhoek, it would mean that on three occasions he or she had been able to pass undetected through permanent Police roadblocks between the city and the places where the parts were found.Amulungu commented that without proper equipment and aids like sniffer dogs it would remain difficult for the Police at the roadblocks to determine that someone was transporting human body parts in his or her vehicle, rather than for instance frozen meat.Getting the correct equipment however has financial implications, turning it into something that political decision- makers would have to decide about, he said.