Tenth body discovered in Ekurhuleni

Police in South Africa found another woman's body on Saturday morning in a cemetery in the Tembisa neighbourhood, bringing the total to ten deaths in Ekurhuleni near Johannesburg in recent months.

Friend identifies the victim

The woman's friend recognised her clothes from the previous evening when shown a picture of the body. Officials have not yet publicly identified the victim.

Serial killer cannot be ruled out

Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said the ten deaths share similar victimology and modus operandi. He told reporters it is too soon to conclusively say whether a serial killer is responsible.

“For now, it's not something which we can overrule to say there's a serial killer, but we cannot conclusively indicate as such.”

Pattern of killings since July

The ten other bodies were found in similar circumstances since July, mostly in Kempton Park near Tembisa. Most victims were young women who suffered extreme violence before death.

Wider crisis of gender violence

South Africa has one of the world's highest rates of gender-based violence. The South African Human Rights Commission reported five hundred sixty-nine women were killed between April and June this year.

Three men charged in prior murder

Three men appeared in court earlier this week accused of involvement in one of the nine prior murders. Police are working to track down others who may have been involved in the killings.