Sixth woman’s body found on Springs roadside as police probe Kempton Park killings

Gauteng police have discovered the sixth woman’s body linked to a series of deaths around Kempton Park. The body was found on the side of a road in KwaThema, Springs, on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Scene cordoned off

Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the discovery and said the area had been cordoned off.

“It is an active scene,” she said.

Pattern of bodies found in open areas

The latest discovery brings to six the number of women’s bodies found in and around Kempton Park since July. All six were found lying in the open, on roadsides, in veld or behind buildings. The source said most were partially clothed and bruised.

Details from earlier discoveries

Police reported the following in earlier incidents:

• The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found near the R21 on July 15, unclothed and restrained with cable ties. Her boyfriend was arrested and remains in custody.
• A partially clothed 32-year-old woman was found on August 24.
• Another woman’s body, unclothed and badly decomposed, was found on September 10.
• Runner Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo was found on Saturday; her eight-year-old daughter raised the alarm when her mother did not come home from a run after work.
• The fifth woman, believed to be in her thirties, was found in a veld at Olifantsfontein on Monday morning by a man walking to work.

Investigation under way

Police said on Monday that four of the women had been sexually assaulted. Deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili briefed reporters at Kempton Park police station on Monday night, alongside acting Gauteng commissioner Major-General Fred Kekana and Ekurhuleni metro police chief Isaac Mapiyeye.

Mosikili said a 72-hour investigation was under way, involving detectives, forensic investigators, the K9 unit, the tracing unit, metro police and crime intelligence. At the briefing she said:

“Your days are numbered. This is not a threat, it’s a fact,”

and added that police hoped to close leads by the end of the week.

What police are doing now

The KwaThema scene remains active and cordoned off as investigators conduct forensics and follow leads related to the string of discoveries around Kempton Park.