For the past few weeks, Cairo has been haunted by one of the most ruthless killers in its history. Since the killer is as yet unknown, people refer to him (assuming that the culprit is a man) as "The Heliopolis-Nasr City Serial Killer".He is a murky presence, stalking women in the two neighborhoods. The police have found his victims cast naked behind filling stations or in dumpsters.
Frequent reports of missing girls found dead and brutally mutilated in the two affluent areas are piling up. Families mourn their loss, try to curb their anger, and keep silent.
And because the police are typically reluctant to provide information to the public, news and rumors of Egypt's 'Jack the Ripper' are usually circulated by word of mouth or e-mail.
The story of the serial killer has been making the rounds in Cairo for several weeks now, although the Interior Ministry claims that there is no truth to it. Residents of Heliopolis and Nasr City are living in constant fear of the elusive figure.
However, what the police have dismissed as a fantasy gained more credibility when Sout Al Umma (Voice of the People) newspaper published details of the killing of three young women, aged 28 to 32. The three had their body parts distributed in garbage bags around various areas of Al Nozha, in Heliopolis.
According to the newspaper, one of them was found with no head.
Kamal Al Sadany, a doctor working in the local morgue, confirmed the arrival of disfigured female bodies there and claimed they seemed to have been killed by the same weapon. "It is either a saw, or a knife," Al Sadany told the Middle East Times.
Police denied the statements made by the doctor and assured the public of their safety.
However, these expressions of reassurance lost credibility when the deaths of two girls in a car occurred right after the official police statement was made. Inevitably, people believe the newspaper account and the e-mails, and girls are making every effort to get home before sunset.
According to the families of the two friends, the girls, whose names were withheld, went out for a drive in Heliopolis and were found later that night with their throats cut.
"I don't know how I'm going to live without my daughter," the mother of one of the deceased wailed.
While the mothers and e-mails told a story of girls butchered, the police told a different one.
Commander Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, of the Al Nozha Police Station, insists the bodies and the talk of a serial killer are nothing but a vicious rumor, aimed to keep girls locked up in their homes. "It is a silly joke, and it remarkably suits the Cairenes who have a history of infatuation with tittle-tattle," he said.
Abdel Aziz said the month of on-going drama had ended because State Security was investigating a 19-year-old student said to be responsible for circulating e-mails that caused the rumors to be blown out of proportion.
The student is accused of hosting a website, using it to publish stories of the imaginary killer, and sending out random e-mails about the phantom killer and his horrible crimes.
Samples of the e-mails were published in the newspapers: "Girls found headless. He slaughters them first then severs the head from the body, probably with a saw, and sometimes cuts the body into pieces. No signs of assault, rape or robbery. Girls were found with their virginity intact and with all their jewelry, so he has no sexual or theft motives."
And this was how the e-mail usually ended: "This information will not go public, The Interior Ministry keeps it confidential in order not to cause panic, and to cover its failure (as usual) to uncover the Ripper!
"So tell all the girls you know to watch out. Don't go out alone, night or day. Don't take a taxi alone or even in pairs. Avoid dark alleys and quiet streets. Don't go joy-riding with strangers. Preferably use public transportation or a relative's car."
But the fact that a horror-crazed student is guilty of sending out e-mails does not mean the killer does not exist.
"It does not prove anything to us. It does not explain to us the murder of the women. The killer or killers remain on the run," said Rania Gabr, a student at Ain Shams University.
Some argue the crazed student is just a cover-up story to keep people quiet.
"Where is his website?" asked Hadia Al Sherbeeny, a journalist on one of Egypt's established magazines. "We only read about a young intelligent student who is infatuated with horror movies and decided to send e-mails. No other details were given, which makes the story hard to believe."
The investigation of a maniac killer or killers has been closed, as far as State Security and the police are concerned, but it remains an unsolved riddle to the public.
Egyptians, young and old, still have their heads full of stories about 'him'. They believe the killer remains at large and the police are just too lazy to react.
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