Gauteng police are investigating after the body of another woman was found in Springs on Sunday, bringing the number of women’s bodies discovered in Ekurhuleni since July to 11.
Eyewitness News reported that the body was found in a veld near Rhokana Road at around midday. A security company vehicle patrolling the area spotted the body and alerted police.
Police have not confirmed whether the latest case is linked to the other murders under investigation.
Specialist teams deployed
According to EWN, SAPS mobilised a multidisciplinary team to the scene.
The team included detectives, Crime Intelligence, Crime Scene Management and the task team already investigating the Ekurhuleni murders. Investigative Psychology Services was also called in.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni was also expected at the scene.
Police said more information would be released after preliminary investigations.
Police caution against assuming links
SAPS and Parliament have previously warned against assuming that all the Ekurhuleni cases are connected.
On 15 September, Parliament’s Police Committee said SAPS had not established links between all the cases known at that stage and urged the public not to draw conclusions before investigators had done so.
Government response intensified
Before the latest discoveries, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide said nine women’s bodies had been found in Ekurhuleni.
The committee approved what it called a Comprehensive Emergency Strategy after receiving a briefing from NATJOINTS on efforts to identify and arrest those responsible.
A 10th woman’s body was then found in Tembisa South on Saturday, according to EWN, before the Springs discovery on Sunday raised the number to 11.
The Springs investigation remains ongoing, with police still working to establish the victim’s identity and the circumstances surrounding her death.