Nine women found de@d in South Africa k!lling spree

Nine women have been found de@d across South Africa’s Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg, over the past two months, sparking fears a serial killer could be on the loose.

South African police said on Thursday that a ninth woman’s body had been discovered in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg.

All nine bodies have been found in the municipality over the past two months, with police investigating whether the de@ths are linked.

Officers previously said similarities between the first eight k!llings were ‘sufficiently concerning’ to issue a public warning.

Police said the discovery of the latest body early on Thursday ‘will be added to the investigations into the de@ths of women in Ekurhuleni’.

Provincial police commissioner Fred Kekana said a passerby found the woman’s body near a construction site and alerted police.

The unidentified woman appeared to be about 30 and had an apparent stab wound to her side, while her throat appeared to have been cut, he said. Forensic investigators had not yet determined the official cause of de@th.

Mr Kekana said police had not established whether her de@th was linked to the other cases and appealed for information.

He also urged people not to circulate photographs of the bodies or unverified reports on social media, warning that they were spreading fear and could encourage copycat crimes.

Residents of Dawn Park, the Johannesburg suburb where the ninth body was found on Thursday, were stunned by the discovery.

‘I hope the government can assist us by arresting the person or people who have been committing these killings, because the current situation is becoming unbearable. We don’t know what’s to happen next,’ said Nomgqibelo Tshabalala, a Dawn Park resident.

So far, bodies have been found across several Ekurhuleni communities, including Kempton Park, Pomona, Clayville, Olifantsfontein, Rhodesfield, KwaThema and Dawn Park.

Panyaza Lesufi, the Premier of Gauteng province, said police were making progress in two or three cases, although he did not provide details. He urged the public to give investigators time to gather sufficient evidence.

‘They’ve declared war against the state. We’ll respond,’ Mr Lesufi told reporters at the scene. ‘We’re not going to surrender.’