Tenth woman’s body found as South Africa police probe killings

Police in South Africa have uncovered another body in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, raising the total number of women found dead there in recent months to ten. The body was discovered on Saturday morning and was identified by a friend who had been with the woman at a bar the previous evening. Local police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni stated that his force cannot rule out the possibility of a serial killer, noting similarities among the ten deaths in Ekurhuleni and another in Soweto.

The deaths have triggered a national outcry over the scale of violence against women, a problem that has one of the highest rates in the world. The latest victim was found in a Tembisa cemetery, northeast of central Johannesburg, and police have dispatched crime scene investigators to gather evidence. The victim's friend confirmed her identification of the body through similar clothes shown in a picture.

Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said it is too early to determine if the latest death is linked to the others, as the victimology shared by the other bodies suggests a similar modus operandi. South Africa has been grappling with a high homicide rate, with 5,427 people murdered between April and June this year alone. However, the recent killings have left many women in Johannesburg particularly distressed, as the ten prior bodies have been found in similar circumstances since July.

Most of the victims were young women, and almost all had suffered extreme violence prior to their deaths. This has increased pressure on the national government, less than a year after ministers declared gender-based violence a national disaster. Three men have appeared in court already accused of involvement in one of the nine prior murders, as police work to track down others who may have been involved.