Tenth woman’s body found in Ekurhuleni as police test links between killings

South African police found the body of another woman near a cemetery in Tembisa on Saturday, September 26, raising to 10 the number of women found dead across the Ekurhuleni municipality over approximately two months.

The latest discovery was reported by Africanews, which said the body was found semi-naked in the township east of Johannesburg. Police initially confirmed only the discovery and said crime-scene management and forensic work were under way. (africanews.com)

Gauteng provincial police chief Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni said the woman appeared to have been stoned to death. That assessment is not yet a confirmed cause of death: Africanews reported that a post-mortem examination would be conducted.

What investigators know

The deaths have prompted a widening police investigation, but authorities have not established that all 10 cases involve the same perpetrator or perpetrators. The Associated Press reported on September 21 that investigators were examining possible links while cautioning that two women arrested over the killing of the ninth victim had not been connected to the other eight deaths. (apnews.com)

Police have also warned against treating public speculation as proof. In a September 23 statement, Ekurhuleni police condemned the circulation of an unidentified man’s photograph on community groups and described the allegations against him as unsubstantiated and defamatory. (saps.gov.za)

Earlier reporting places the first case on July 15, when a 37-year-old woman was found dead and bound with cable ties. A suspect was arrested two days later, according to the Africanews report. Two women, aged 31 and 38, were later arrested and charged in connection with the ninth victim. Police have said that case may have involved a relationship-related motive, but that claim does not establish a link to the wider series. (africanews.com)

Public concern and the next steps

The deaths have intensified fear among residents and renewed scrutiny of violence against women in South Africa. On September 15, government news service SAnews reported that police had deployed additional officers and assembled a multidisciplinary team involving detectives and specialised policing resources. At that stage, six women’s bodies had been reported in Ekurhuleni; the number has since risen to 10. (sanews.gov.za)

Police have offered a 400,000-rand reward for information leading to arrests, while the Democratic Alliance has announced an additional reward, according to Africanews. The immediate questions are whether the latest death will be linked to any of the earlier cases, whether the victim can be identified, and what the post-mortem establishes about how she died. (africanews.com)

For now, the confirmed development is the discovery of a tenth body. The broader “string” remains an investigative theory rather than an established single case, and any conclusion about a serial killer or a common motive would be premature.

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