Tenth female homicide discovered in Johannesburg suburb amid serial killer investigation
Police have recovered the body of a woman in Tembisa, marking the tenth similar death in the area, and are examining possible links to a serial offender.
Police in the Gauteng province announced Saturday that a woman's body was found at a cemetery in the Tembisa neighbourhood of Johannesburg, bringing the total of comparable deaths in the region to ten since July. The victim was identified by a friend who had been with her at a bar the previous night.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Lt Gen Tommy Mthombeni said investigators are still gathering evidence and that, while a serial killer cannot yet be confirmed, the cases share a "similar victimology" and a possible common "modus operandi." He told reporters that the police cannot rule out a serial perpetrator but also cannot conclusively label the killings as such at this stage.
The latest discovery follows a series of bodies found mainly in Kempton Park and Tembisa, most of which were young women who had suffered severe violence before death. The pattern has intensified public concern over gender-based violence, a problem South Africa ranks among the highest globally for.
National statistics show a homicide surge, with 5,427 murders recorded between April and June this year. The South African Human Rights Commission reported that 569 women were killed and 1,052 survived attempted murder in the same period.
A friend of the victim, speaking to a national broadcaster, expressed grief over the loss, saying she did not know how to explain the tragedy to the woman's children.