Seven bodies, one unanswered question: Is Kempton Park hunting a serial killer?

As the body count climbs, so does the confusion around one central question everyone keeps asking.

Here’s what’s actually known, and what criminology says about cases like this one.

HOW MANY BODIES HAVE NOW BEEN FOUND?

Seven.

A seventh woman’s body has now been linked to the investigation, after being found floating in a river in Clayville, near the Mall of Thembisa, on 7 September.

That came on top of a sixth body discovered on a roadside in KwaThema, Springs, on Tuesday, and a fifth found in a veld at Olifantsfontein the day before that.

It brings the total number of women’s bodies found in and around Ekurhuleni since July to seven, with four of them discovered in just the past few days.

WHO ARE THE VICTIMS SO FAR?

The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found near the R21 on 15 July.

She was unclothed and had been restrained with cable ties. Her boyfriend was arrested two days later and remains in custody in connection with that case.

A second body, that of a 32-year-old woman, was discovered near the R21 on 24 August.

A third, unidentified woman was found on 10 September in an advanced state of decomposition.

The fourth victim was found in Rhodesfield on 12 September.

She has since been confirmed as Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, the Kempton Park runner whose disappearance sparked widespread alarm.

Forensic tests have confirmed sexual assault in four of the cases confirmed so far.

WHY HASN’T SAPS CALLED THIS A SERIAL KILLER CASE?

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe has repeatedly said it’s too early to draw that conclusion, saying:

“We are simply not there yet. We are relying on experts to advise accordingly.”

There’s an added layer to that caution.

Sources close to the investigation say police are examining whether the deaths could involve more than one perpetrator, rather than a single person hunting women.

The fact that the first victim’s boyfriend remains in custody for that case supports that theory.

WHAT ACTUALLY DEFINES A SERIAL KILLER, CRIMINOLOGICALLY SPEAKING?

By the FBI’s widely cited definition, a serial killer is someone who kills two or more victims in separate incidents.

There’s typically a “cooling-off” period between each murder that suggests premeditation.

South Africa doesn’t use an identical standard.

The SAPS definition, used officially within our own justice system, is broader.

It defines a serial killer as someone who kills two or more victims on at least two separate occasions.

That’s part of why SAPS can be more measured about applying the label here than headlines borrowed from American cases might suggest.

Our own investigators are working from a wider, more inclusive definition, not a narrower American one.

HOW DO INVESTIGATORS ACTUALLY IDENTIFY PATTERNS BETWEEN CASES?

Profilers look for a killer’s modus operandi, the specific methods used.

They also look for any “signature” behaviours that repeat across crime scenes, since offenders often unconsciously leave the same psychological fingerprints behind. Geographic profiling is also key.

Investigators map where bodies are found to try to predict an offender’s “comfort zone,” the area where they feel safe enough to operate.

WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT

Deputy National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili briefed reporters at Kempton Park police station, alongside acting Gauteng commissioner Major-General Fred Kekana and Ekurhuleni metro police chief Isaac Mapiyeye.

She confirmed a 72-hour intensified investigation is underway, involving detectives, forensic investigators, the K9 unit, tracing unit, metro police and crime intelligence.

Mosikili had a pointed message for whoever is responsible: “Your days are numbered. This is not a threat, it’s a fact.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has since directed police to urgently investigate and solve the murders. Separately, police say a woman who escaped an alleged abduction attempt in the area could hold clues relevant to the other cases.

WHY DOES IT MATTER THAT POLICE ARE BEING SO CAUTIOUS?

Confirming a serial killer prematurely can shape an investigation in the wrong direction.

It can narrow focus onto the wrong suspect pool, or spark public panic based on an unconfirmed theory.

SAPS has said it’s relying on its Investigative Psychology Unit to establish victim profile types and behavioural patterns before drawing that conclusion.

This is standard practice in modern criminal profiling, not reluctance to act.

Watching this number climb from four to five, six, and now seven in a matter of days has been hard for the country to sit with.

Police say precision matters before naming what this is.

But for the women living in and around Ekurhuleni right now, that caution likely feels like cold comfort.

It feels like broken promises, like safety is further out of reach than it’s ever been.

If this isn’t a wake-up call, it’s hard to imagine what would be.

Many would argue South Africa is long past the point of needing one. It has been well beyond that for some time.

DO YOU THINK POLICE ARE RIGHT TO HOLD OFF ON CALLING THIS A SERIAL KILLER CASE?