Sixth woman’s body found on East Rand as police probe Kempton Park killings

Gauteng police discovered a sixth woman’s body on the East Rand on Tuesday morning, found on the side of a road in KwaThema, Springs, and have cordoned off the area as an active scene, police said.

Discovery and scene response

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 recent deaths

The latest finding brings to six the number of women whose bodies have been found in and around Kempton Park since July. All six were found lying in the open, on roadsides, in veld or behind buildings, and most were partially clothed and bruised.

Police said on Monday that four of the women had been sexually assaulted.

Previous discoveries reported by police

• 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.

Police briefing and investigation

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, with detectives, forensic investigators, the K9 unit, the tracing unit, metro police and crime intelligence chasing leads that police hoped to close by the end of the week.

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

What police have said and next steps

Police have described the KwaThema scene as active while investigations continue. Further information about the latest discovery and the wider inquiry has not been provided.