South African police arrest man who says he started a fire that left 76 dead to hide another killing
Source: Associated Press
South African police arrest man who says he started a fire that left 76 dead to hide another killing
BY GERALD IMRAY
Updated 6:58 PM EST, January 23, 2024
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A man was arrested Tuesday and will face 76 counts of murder after telling an inquiry that he started a deadly building fire in South Africa last year while trying to get rid of the body of someone he had strangled in the apartment complex on the orders of a drug dealer.
The shocking confession came when the man was testifying at the public inquiry into the causes of the nighttime fire in Johannesburg in August, which was one of South Africa’s worst disasters with its death toll of 76.
The 29-year-old man, who wasn’t named, said he had killed a man in the basement of the rundown building on the night of the fire by beating him and strangling him, according to South African media reports of the testimony. He said he then poured gasoline on the man’s body and set it alight with a match.
He testified that he was a drug user and was told to kill the man by a Tanzanian drug dealer who lived in the building.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-deadly-fire-inquiry-1586af852facb5d355ec8feb67d6c60e