Gauteng police keep serial-killer possibility open after 10th body found in Ekurhuleni

Gauteng police are investigating whether the discovery of another woman’s body in Thembisa is connected to a series of killings across Ekurhuleni, while warning that it is too early to conclude that a serial killer is responsible.

The body was found at Mooifontein Cemetery on the morning of Saturday, September 26, 2026. Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni said investigators had processed the latest crime scene but had not yet established whether the death was linked to other cases. (sabcnews.com)

SABC News reported that 10 women’s bodies have now been found in Ekurhuleni and one more in Soweto over a period of three months. Police are examining similarities in the victims and the alleged methods involved, but have not confirmed that the cases form a single series. (sabcnews.com)

What police have established

Mthombeni’s latest assessment is more cautious than a confirmation of a serial-killer case: police say the possibility cannot be excluded, but there is not enough evidence to establish it conclusively. The Gauteng police commissioner previously told the Police Portfolio Committee that investigators had not confirmed a serial killer, although the possibility remained open. (ewn.co.za)

Police have also identified people of interest and said forensic work is being used to examine possible links between some suspects and recovered bodies. That does not mean those individuals have been charged or that responsibility for the wider series has been established. (ewn.co.za)

A widening investigation

The latest discovery follows the deaths of nine women reported in Ekurhuleni in the preceding two months. Two women appeared in the Boksburg Magistrates Court on September 21 in connection with one of those killings. The Associated Press reported that investigators had not linked the two suspects to the other eight deaths, and that a man initially detained was later released without being charged. (apnews.com)

Authorities have said that some cases share similarities, including the locations where bodies were found and aspects of the victims’ circumstances. However, police and government officials have also stressed that different motives or methods may be involved. (apnews.com)

What remains unknown

Police have not publicly confirmed the identity of the latest victim, the cause of death, whether the body was found at the cemetery or moved there, or whether forensic evidence connects the case to the other investigations. The number of perpetrators, if more than one is involved, is also unknown.

For communities in Ekurhuleni, the immediate significance is that a sequence of separate investigations is being assessed as a possible connected threat. The evidence available so far supports heightened police scrutiny, but not a definitive conclusion about a serial killer.

The next measurable developments will be the identification of the Thembisa victim, forensic findings, any arrests or court appearances, and an official determination on whether the cases can be linked. Until then, the serial-killer theory remains an active line of inquiry rather than an established fact.

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