Seventh woman’s body found in Ekurhuleni as police confirm link to serial murder probe

Update

NATIONAL NEWS - A seventh body has been linked to the string of killings plaguing Ekurhuleni, police confirmed on Tuesday.

Acting provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said a woman’s body found in a river in Olifantsfontein, near Tembisa Mall, on 7 September had now been added to the investigation.

Kekana confirms seventh body

Kekana said police had gone back to their stations after noticing bodies were being picked up.

“The body of a female in her late twenties was observed in the river in Clayville next to Tembisa Mall,” he said. He added, “Therefore, this body will also then be included as part of those to be investigated by the whole team.”

The woman was found with most of her clothing missing. “She was naked but [only in her] underwear,” Kekana stated.

East Rand killings

He added that he did not want to speculate on how her clothes went missing.

No visible injuries on seventh victim

Kekana said pathologists had found no visible wounds on the Olifantsfontein body but that it would still be probed for links to the other cases.

Turning to a body discovered earlier in the day in KwaThema, he said a preliminary report pointed to strangulation.

“The lady seems to have been strangled first on the neck,” he said.

A full post-mortem is scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Neither victim had yet been identified, though Kekana said forensic teams and health department pathologists were working together on identifying them.

Sixth body found in Springs

Earlier on Tuesday, a sixth body was discovered dumped in KwaThema, near Springs, appearing decomposed. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said investigators were not yet linking it to the other cases.

“For now, we are not linking this body with the others, but we are not ruling out the possibility that it can be linked,” she said. Mathe appealed for public help, saying, “We need as much hands as possible on the ground.”

Minister to meet investigation team

Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia and acting national commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane were due to meet the multidisciplinary team in Parktown on Tuesday evening for updates and further direction, with a media briefing to follow.

One suspect, arrested in July in connection with the first victim, remains in custody.

Kekana also noted that only two of the seven bodies have been positively identified. He said that identification processes were ongoing.

Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen

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