Three Arrested Over Woman’s Killing in Ekurhuleni

South African police have arrested three suspects in connection with the killing of a woman whose body was found the previous week in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg.

The suspects are two women and one man. Police said they were expected to appear in court later Monday.

Investigators have not linked the three suspects to the other reported killings of women in the area, leaving open the question of whether the cases are connected.

Ten killings under investigation

Authorities are examining ten killings of women in their 20s and 30s reported in Ekurhuleni over a period of two months. A tenth woman’s body was found on Sunday afternoon in Soweto township, within the Johannesburg metropolitan area.

Several bodies were discovered in open areas near main roads. Six victims were reportedly found within a ten-day period, while four were discovered within approximately six kilometres of one another.

The killings have caused anger in South Africa and prompted authorities to issue an alert advising women in Ekurhuleni to take precautions.

Authorities cautious over possible links

Police have been investigating whether the cases are connected amid concern that a serial killer or killers could be operating in the area. However, authorities said they had not established that all ten killings were related, although similarities had been identified in some cases.

Tebello Mosikili, South Africa’s deputy national police commissioner, said during a Monday press briefing that the available evidence was not conclusive on whether one person was responsible for all the deaths.

“It is just a matter of time … until we take all those that are responsible for the killing of women across the length and breadth of our country to justice,” Mosikili said.

Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said there was no conclusive evidence that a serial killer was responsible. He added that “nothing has yet been excluded while investigations continue.”

The arrests relate to one killing only, according to police, and investigators continue to assess the circumstances surrounding the other deaths.