Cape Town – Dubbed the Facebook rapist, Thabo Bester, 33, was reportedly found dead in his single cell at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
According to News24, Bester was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for the murder of Johannesburg model and car salesperson Nomfundo Tyhulu, 23, whom he stabbed in the chest while on vacation in Cape Town in September 2011.
He was also sentenced to 50 years in prison in October 2011 for raping and robbing two other models.
Bester used Facebook to entice aspiring models to meet him, he would then kidnap and rape them, according to The Citizen.
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Around 3:35 on Tuesday morning he was found dead in his cell with burnt wounds.
An investigation into Bester’s death has been launched.
“This was not a natural death, hence it has to be investigated. That particular correctional facility has an advanced technological system to a point that for anyone to even light a cigarette, they won’t use a matchbox that many use on the streets but have certain devices that they would use, hence it’s important to establish the circumstances under which that fire started and what is it that may have been used. It’s also important to establish when the fire started. This is the only cell that had the fire,” the report quoted police spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo as saying.
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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
