South African police are investigating the deaths of nine women whose bodies have been discovered in and around Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, over roughly two months. The latest was found on 17 September in Dawn Park, Boksburg. Police have assembled a multidisciplinary team of detectives, forensic specialists and other investigators, but they have not established that all nine deaths were caused by one person or that every case is connected.
Four of the nine women have been publicly identified: Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, Itumeleng Kekana, Dineo Evelyn Motapane and 28-year-old Gracious Nkomo. Five women remained unidentified as of 18 September. The cases share circumstances that have prompted investigators to examine possible links, but similarities alone do not establish a common perpetrator.
What happened in Ekurhuleni
The investigation began with individual discoveries of women’s bodies in the Ekurhuleni area from July onward. As additional cases emerged, police expanded the investigation to determine whether they might form part of a connected series.
The locations have included Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein, Clayville, Kwa-Thema and Dawn Park in Boksburg. Several bodies were discovered close to roads or in open areas. Some victims were found partially clothed, and reporting on the earlier cases described signs that prompted investigators to consider sexual violence as part of the investigation.
The geographical concentration is one reason the cases have attracted national attention. It is also one of the reasons investigators are examining whether apparently separate murders could have a connection.
But location alone is not proof of a common offender.
The cases currently under investigation
| Development | What is publicly established |
|---|---|
| First cases | Women were found dead in and around Kempton Park from July onward; at least one suspect was arrested in connection with the first case, according to reporting. |
| 10 September | Three women were found along the R21 area in Kempton Park; Gracious Nkomo was subsequently identified as one of them. |
| 7 September | A woman’s body was found in a river near Clayville/Tembisa Mall and was subsequently added to the wider investigation. |
| 15 September | A woman later identified as Dineo Evelyn Motapane was found beside a road in Kwa-Thema, Springs. |
| 17 September | Police discovered a ninth woman’s body in Dawn Park, Boksburg. She had not been identified in the latest official police statement. |
| Current investigation | SAPS has mobilised a multidisciplinary team and intensified policing in affected areas. Investigators are examining the circumstances of each death and possible links between cases. |
The table reflects information publicly available by 18 September 2026. Investigative findings can change as forensic examinations and identification work progress.
Who are the women who have been identified?
The identification of victims is an important part of the investigation because it allows detectives to reconstruct their movements, relationships, communications and last known whereabouts.
Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo
Moselakgomo, 38, was identified by her family after she disappeared following a regular run in the Kempton Park area. Her disappearance attracted considerable public attention.
Police confirmed her identification on 14 September.
Itumeleng Kekana
Kekana, 32, was also among the women identified by relatives. Reporting on her case said her family searched for her for an extended period before being asked to identify her body.
Dineo Evelyn Motapane
Motapane, 38, was found beside a road in Kwa-Thema, Springs, on 15 September. Her family subsequently identified her body at Springs Mortuary.
Gracious Nkomo
Nkomo, 28, was found on 10 September along the R21 in Kempton Park. Her family identified her at Germiston Mortuary on 17 September. Police said she was found partially clothed.
Five other women had not been publicly identified as of the latest reports. For those families who may have missing relatives, identification is therefore not simply an administrative matter: it is one of the central unanswered questions in the investigation.
What police have confirmed
Police have taken the cases seriously enough to create a coordinated investigation rather than leaving each discovery entirely within separate local investigations.
SAPS said a multidisciplinary team had been mobilised, while police and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department increased visibility and patrols in affected areas. The investigation involves specialist capabilities intended to establish the circumstances of the deaths and identify those responsible.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also directed law-enforcement agencies to prioritise the investigation. He said authorities were working to establish the facts and bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice.
Police have appealed for information from members of the public. SAPS has specifically provided its Crime Stop number, 08600 10111, and its MySAPS anonymous reporting channel.
What remains unclear
The most important unanswered question is whether the nine deaths are connected.
Police are investigating the cases together, but that does not mean investigators have concluded that one person killed all nine women.
Reuters reported on 17 September that authorities had not established whether the killings involved a single perpetrator, several perpetrators or potentially copycat crimes. Police were still examining the latest case and cautioned against drawing conclusions prematurely.
Several other questions remain open:
- Who killed each woman?
- Are the cases connected?
- Were the women killed at the locations where their bodies were found?
- What do the forensic examinations show?
- What were the victims’ movements before their deaths?
- Were there common contacts, vehicles, locations or communications?
- How many suspects are being investigated?
- What role, if any, does the suspect arrested in an earlier case have in the wider investigation?
- What caused the deaths in each individual case?
- Who are the five unidentified women?
Some of these questions can only be answered after forensic results, witness evidence, digital evidence and investigative findings have been assembled.
Why investigators are looking for links
The cases have generated concern because of similarities in timing, geography and characteristics of some of the crime scenes and victims.
Most of the women were young adults, and several bodies were found partially clothed or with indications of violence. Reuters reported that some cases involved signs of sexual violence.
Those similarities provide investigators with reasons to compare the cases.
They do not, by themselves, establish that a serial killer is responsible.
That distinction is particularly important in a rapidly developing investigation. A cluster of murders can have several explanations, including an offender operating repeatedly, multiple unrelated offenders, connected criminal networks or other circumstances that only become apparent through forensic and investigative work.
The appropriate question at this stage is therefore not “Who is the serial killer?” but “What evidence, if any, connects these cases?”
The first arrest does not answer the wider mystery
At least one suspect has been reported as being in custody in connection with an earlier July case. However, that arrest should not be treated as proof that the same individual is responsible for the other deaths.
The wider investigation remains active precisely because police are trying to establish whether the cases are connected.
A person being investigated or arrested in one murder case does not establish responsibility for additional crimes without evidence linking that individual to them.
That distinction is particularly important when reporting on unidentified victims and an investigation that has generated intense public fear.
Why identification matters to the investigation
The five unidentified women represent one of the investigation’s most difficult challenges.
Until a victim is positively identified, detectives may have less information about her family, employment, relationships, recent movements and social connections. Identification can open multiple investigative pathways, including missing-person reports, phone records, CCTV, financial activity and witness accounts.
The identification of Nkomo, Moselakgomo, Kekana and Motapane therefore does more than give names to four victims. It potentially gives investigators additional information with which to reconstruct the circumstances preceding their deaths.
For the remaining unidentified women, police and families continue to face the painful problem of establishing who they were.
The investigation is unfolding against South Africa’s wider GBV crisis
The Ekurhuleni killings have become a national issue partly because they are occurring within a country already confronting high levels of violence against women.
The government classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster in November 2025. The current cases have renewed public scrutiny of whether institutions can prevent violence, investigate killings effectively and provide answers to families.
But the Ekurhuleni investigation should not be used to assume that every femicide in South Africa has the same cause or perpetrator.
Femicide encompasses killings of women in circumstances connected to their gender, including intimate-partner violence and other forms of violence against women. The Ekurhuleni cases may eventually reveal one or more specific patterns, but those conclusions must come from evidence in the individual investigations.
What happens next
The immediate investigative priorities are relatively clear: identify the remaining victims, establish how each woman died, reconstruct their movements and determine whether evidence connects the cases.
Forensic examinations will be particularly important. So will information from relatives, missing-person reports, witnesses, CCTV, telecommunications and other evidence available to investigators.
Police have already increased their presence in affected areas and said specialist investigators are working on the cases.
The discovery of a ninth body makes the investigation more urgent, but it does not resolve its central question.
For now, the strongest established fact is that nine women have died and their cases are being investigated as part of a broader Ekurhuleni inquiry. Four have been identified and five remained unidentified in the latest public reporting. Police are examining possible connections, but have not publicly established that a single person is responsible for all nine deaths. Until forensic and investigative evidence establishes those links, the responsible way to report the case is to keep the distinction between what investigators know, what they are testing and what remains unknown.