The trial of an alleged Boland serial killer accused of murdering three women is set to start in the Western Cape High Court in two weeks following numerous postponements.
Johan Williams has made several appearances in court over the past few weeks, where he is facing 20 counts of murder, rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, assault, housebreaking with intent to commit arson and failure to comply with a protection order.
His trial is due to start on 23 May, reports the Cape Argus.
It is alleged that Williams kidnapped, raped and murdered several women between July 2012 and July 2018 by luring them to Wellington with job opportunities.
One of his alleged victims is 21-year-old Kuils River mom Chantell Mathyssen, whose body was found at Abenrau farm in Wellington on 2 July 2018.
Chantell was last seen by her parents and young son on 23 June 2018 before she took a train to Williams after he offered her a job as a packer on a wine farm.
Williams had befriended the young woman in 2016 after she missed her train stop, and was known to her parents.
When Chantell failed to contact her mom, they became worried and went to the farm to look for her.
Williams was arrested shortly after he apparently led the police to her body.
It is the State’s case that Williams used the same methods to lure two other women, 33-year-old Maria Isaacs and 35-year-old Natalie Jonkers.
Both their remains were discovered on the same farm within days of the discovery of Chantell’s body.
Maria and Chantell were both raped and strangled to death. The cause of Natalie’s death could not be determined because she had gone missing two years earlier.
Williams also faces charges for the abuse of another complainant and a minor, who cannot be named.
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