Ninth body found in Dawn Park as police probe string of East Rand deaths

A ninth woman’s body was found in the Dawn Park area of Ekurhuleni on Thursday morning, Gauteng police said, as investigators continue to probe a series of deaths on the East Rand.

Latest discovery and police statement

Gauteng acting provincial commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told the media the woman’s remains were found in Dawn Park and that preliminary investigations indicated the remains had been dumped there.

Kekana has previously urged women and girls to take extra precautions while exercising, walking or running as police continue the investigations. He said:

“This is not about restricting the freedom of women to move, exercise or live their lives. It is about taking reasonable precautions while the police continue with these investigations.”

Timeline of earlier deaths cited by police

Police say eight other women have been found dead in and around the area since July. The IOL report lists the previous discoveries as follows:

• The first body, of a 37-year-old woman, was found naked and bound with cable ties in an open field near the R21 in Kempton Park on July 15.
• Itumeleng Kekana, 32, who went missing on July 17, was found dead on Great North Road in Pomona, Kempton Park, on August 3.
• A 32-year-old woman was found partially clothed near the R21 on August 24.
• Last Monday a woman believed to be in her late 20s was found in a river in Clayville, near Mall of Thembisa, wearing only her underwear.
• Last week Thursday, the naked and badly decomposed body of a woman was found near the R21 and Voortrekker Road in Kempton Park.
• Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, 38, a mother who went out for her usual run last week Wednesday and never returned, was found partially clothed behind a hotel in Rhodesfield last week Saturday.
• On Monday a partially naked woman with bruises was found in Olifantsfontein.
• On Tuesday a naked woman in her 30s was found behind Club 69 in KwaThema, Springs; Kekana said early findings by pathologists showed she had been strangled.

Investigation, arrests and rewards

Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane said one person had been arrested in connection with one of the killings in July, and that police were tracing another person of interest.

Police have offered a R400,000 reward for information leading to arrests, and the Democratic Alliance has put up R500,000.

Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia said police would lock down Kempton Park and surrounding areas, and added it was too early to say there was a pattern to the killings. A multidisciplinary team of detectives, forensic experts, crime intelligence and specialised units has been set up to investigate the deaths, and President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed police to prioritise the investigation.

What investigators say next

Police said they were investigating whether the killings were linked. No further details on suspects or forensic findings beyond those mentioned by Kekana and Dimpane were provided in the report.