Ekurhuleni murders: What we know about all 10 women

Ten women. Ten crime scenes. More than two months of killings across Ekurhuleni.

The number rose again on Saturday, 26 September, when police found a partly clothed woman dead at Mooifontein Cemetery in Tembisa.

Her discovery brought the official number of women found dead across Ekurhuleni since July to 10. Police are investigating the cases individually while also examining whether any are connected.

Eight of the first nine women have now been publicly named. Vutomi Mathebula, whose identity police had previously withheld while tracing her family, was identified after relatives spent almost six months searching for her.

Here are the 10 women in the order police found their bodies.

1. Busisiwe Mahlangu – 15 July

Police found Busisiwe Mahlangu, 37, in an open area near the R21 in Kempton Park on 15 July.

Her death became the first case in the chronology now forming part of the wider Ekurhuleni investigation.

Police arrested a suspect two days later and kept him in custody while detectives continued investigating the murder.

Authorities have not linked that suspect to any of the women found dead afterwards.

2. Itumeleng Kekana – 3 August

Police found Itumeleng Kekana, 32, in bushes near Great North Road, close to the Max informal settlement in Pomona, Kempton Park, on 3 August.

Kekana had been missing since 17 July.

Her family spent more than two weeks searching for her before police found her body.

Investigators said she had suffered multiple stab wounds and opened a murder case.

3. Nomfesane Mjobo – 26 August

Nomfesane Mjobo became the third woman in the official chronology.

Police found her body in the Kempton Park area on 26 August.

Authorities have released limited information about the circumstances surrounding her death, but government included her in its official list of women whose killings form part of the Ekurhuleni investigation.

4. Unidentified woman – 7 September

Police found a woman’s body floating in the Clayville River in Olifantsfontein on 7 September.

She remains publicly unidentified.

Police previously turned to biometric records and other forensic processes in an effort to identify women who entered mortuaries without names.

Her identity remains one of the unresolved parts of the investigation.

5. Gracious Nkomo – 10 September

Police found Gracious Nkomo, 28, near the R21 in Kempton Park on 10 September.

Her body was partially clothed.

For several days, police did not know who she was.

Her family formally identified her at the Germiston mortuary on 17 September.

6. Elizabeth ‘Tsontso’ Moselakgomo – 12 September

Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, 38, left her Rhodesfield home for her usual run and never returned.

Her family raised the alarm when she failed to come home.

Police found her body in the Kempton Park area on 12 September before relatives later identified her at the Germiston mortuary.

Moselakgomo’s death drew national attention to the growing number of women being found dead across Ekurhuleni and prompted memorial runs and tributes from the running community.

7. Vutomi Mathebula – 14 September

Police found Vutomi Mathebula, 28, in Olifantsfontein on 14 September.

Her family had been searching for her since 22 March, when she left home after saying she was going shopping at Dragon City.

During the six-month search, unknown callers demanded money from the family and allegedly threatened to kill Mathebula if relatives did not pay.

Her family paid R3 000 before the callers demanded another R2 500. Relatives never got an opportunity to speak to her.

Her uncle eventually helped identify her remains through her hairstyle and clothing.

Mathebula, who worked as a cleaner and leaves behind a five-year-old child, was buried in Limpopo on Thursday, 24 September.

8. Dineo Evelyn Motapane – 15 September

A passer-by found Dineo Evelyn Motapane, 38, beside Moshoeshoe Street in Kwa-Thema at about 06:40 on 15 September.

Her family identified her at the Springs Mortuary the following afternoon.

Relatives last saw Motapane alive at about 17:00 on Sunday, 13 September.

Her family was already preparing for another relative’s funeral when she disappeared. When Dineo failed to arrive, concern grew.

She leaves behind a two-year-old daughter.

Her relatives have repeatedly called for answers and believe she was killed elsewhere before her body was left beside the road, although police have not publicly confirmed that theory.

9. Jabulile Ntimba – 17 September

Police found Jabulile Ntimba in an open area in Villa Liza, Dawn Park, on 17 September.

Investigators initially believed she may have been killed elsewhere before her body was left at the scene.

Her case has since produced one of the biggest breakthroughs in the broader investigation.

Police arrested three people, but only Fortunate Masilela and Tsakane Nester Msithini were charged.

The two women face charges of premeditated murder and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

The Boksburg Magistrate’s Court remanded them in custody until 1 October for a formal bail application.

Authorities did not enrol the case against the third suspect.

Police have not linked the two accused to the other Ekurhuleni deaths.

10. Unidentified Tembisa woman – 26 September

Police found the latest woman at Mooifontein Cemetery in the Vusimuzi section of Tembisa on Saturday morning.

Her body was partly clothed.

Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni said evidence at the scene suggested the woman may have been stoned.

Police have not publicly released her name or age.

Crime-scene management and forensic pathology teams processed the scene while detectives began tracing her final movements.

A woman who described herself as the victim’s friend told SABC that she had been with her at a tavern on Friday night before they went their separate ways.

She said she became alarmed after seeing an image of the body and recognising the clothing the woman had worn the previous night.

WHAT ABOUT THE WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN SOWETO?

The Soweto case should not be included as one of the 10 Ekurhuleni victims.

Police found an unidentified woman’s body wrapped in a duvet in a dam in Moroka, Soweto, on 20 September.

The case immediately drew attention because it emerged while police were investigating the Ekurhuleni deaths.

However, police have not confirmed that her death is linked to the Ekurhuleni killings.

Investigators may examine possible similarities, but there is currently no established police link between the Soweto woman and the 10 Ekurhuleni cases.

ARE THE EKURHULENI MURDERS LINKED?

Police have still not established that one person or group killed all 10 women.

Investigators are comparing evidence, victim profiles, forensic findings and the circumstances surrounding each death.

He also stressed that police could not yet conclusively link the cases.

SAPS has deployed detectives, Crime Intelligence, forensic specialists and investigative psychologists to the investigation.