The investigation into the deaths of women in Ekurhuleni has expanded after police confirmed the discovery of another body in Olifantsfontein.
The body was found on 14 September, bringing the total number of bodies discovered in the area over the past two months to eight.
Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane provided the update during a media briefing on Tuesday night.
Earlier on Tuesday, authorities confirmed that a seventh body had been discovered on 7 September. The woman’s body was found floating in a river in Clayville, near Mall of Tembisa.
Police are investigating whether the cases are linked.
The first body was discovered on 15 July when the remains of a 37-year-old woman were found in Kempton Park. A suspect was arrested two days later.
The second and third bodies were subsequently discovered in Kempton Park during August.
On 10 September, police found the body of another woman, who was naked and in an advanced state of decomposition, in Kempton Park.
Two days later, on 12 September, the body of 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo was found behind a hotel. Police said she had left her eight-year-old daughter at home to go for a jog and did not return.
On 14 September, another woman’s body was discovered on the side of a road in KwaThema, Springs.
Dimpane says some of the victims have yet to be identified.
She has appealed to residents in the affected areas to report missing family members and provide any information that could assist investigators.
“The sooner we identify these victims, the quicker it will assist us to follow specific leads and to crack these particular cases,” Dimpane said.
Police are continuing with investigations as they work to establish the identities of the women and determine whether there are connections between the cases.