An awaiting-trial prisoner was nabbed after he escaped from police custody in September last year, Limpopo police said in a statement on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old suspect was re-arrested in Zaaiplaas, Groblersdal, on Monday after the police received a tip-off from a resident that he had been admitted to a hospital in Mpumalanga after he was assaulted by residents while allegedly attempting to rape an elderly woman.
"The suspect allegedly changed his name at the hospital to disguise his identity.
"The suspect escaped with other inmates who were arrested for rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances," police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said.
The suspect, who was arrested for murder and rape, escaped when the police were doing a routine cell check.
"The police pursued them and subsequently managed to re-arrest the other two suspects, but he managed to evade arrest and was on the run until his apprehension on Monday," Ngoepe added.
He is expected to appear in the local magistrate's court soon on charges of escaping from lawful custody, murder and two counts of rapes.