Facebook Rapist and Murderer on the Run

Johannesburg, South Africa

Police have carried out a search at a luxurious house in Hyde Park, Johannesburg, where Thabo Bester, a convicted rapist and murderer, and his partner, Doctor Nandipha Magudumana, were believed to have been hiding.

The couple is suspected to have fled from the house a few weeks ago, and investigators were seen removing evidence from the property. Bester had escaped from the Mangaung correctional facility last year, where he was serving a life sentence after being convicted of rape and murder.

It remains unclear why police waited until now to search the property, despite reports three weeks ago that Bester had been hiding there. A police source said that the search was conducted in case Bester had hidden items on the property. Police have not given any updates on the investigation, and a spokesperson has urged the media to give detectives space to carry out their work.

Bester came to public attention recently after pictures surfaced of him shopping at a grocery outlet in Sandton, a month after the Department of Correctional Services reported that he had died in a cell fire.