Friend recalls final chat with woman found dead in Thembisa

A friend of a woman whose body was discovered in Thembisa South, Ekurhuleni, says she was with her at a tavern on Friday night before they went their separate ways.

Hours later, the woman’s body was found near Mooifontein Cemetery on Saturday morning.

Her friend told SABC News that she became alarmed after seeing a picture of the body and recognising the clothes the woman had been wearing when they were last together.

‘Wasn’t there’

“I don’t know what I’m going to say to her children. It’s painful. I last saw her yesterday, and this morning, when I went to check on her, she wasn’t there,” the friend said.

She said she became increasingly concerned when people began describing the clothing found on the woman.

“I got scared when they started describing the clothes she was wearing, because I realised they were similar. She was wearing a t-shirt similar to mine, black tights and white shoes,” she said.

The discovery has added to growing concern over the deaths of women in Gauteng.

The latest case brings the number of women’s bodies discovered over the past two months to 11 – 10 in Ekurhuleni and one in Soweto.

READ | Ekurhuleni murders: 10th woman may have been stoned

Police investigation

Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni says a joint command group involving senior police leadership and crime intelligence is meeting regularly to monitor the investigation into the discovery of female bodies across the province.

Mthombeni said experienced investigators had been assigned to the cases and that police were following leads in some of the investigations.

“We are progressing, we are moving, and there is one case in which we have progressed, and we are moving on the leads,” Mthombeni said.

He added that the latest case remained at an early stage.

“But for this one, it’s still at the initial stage, where we are putting our resources together to ensure that we see this matter is resolved,” he said.

Coordinating resources

Mthombeni said police had adopted a multi-pronged approach to the investigations and were coordinating resources as they worked to establish what happened.

The latest discovery is likely to intensify scrutiny of the ongoing investigations into the deaths of women in Ekurhuleni and surrounding areas.

Police have yet to establish publicly whether the individual cases are connected.