- South African police have launched a high-level investigation after the body of a ninth woman was discovered in the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg, over the past two months.
- The latest victim, an unidentified woman aged around 30 with a cut throat and a stab wound, was discovered near a construction site by a passerby on Thursday morning.
- A multidisciplinary team of experts is investigating potential links between the murders, with police noting concerning similarities in victim profiles, locations, and circumstances while warning against prematurely assuming a single serial killer.
- Previous victims aged between 20 and 38 were found naked or partially clothed with severe bruising, including 38-year-old runner Elizabeth "Tsontso" Moselakgomo, who went missing after an afternoon jog.
- The discoveries have drawn stark attention to South Africa's rampant rates of femicide and violent crime, with recent national crime statistics showing an average of 45 murders taking place per day between April and July.
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