Ekurhuleni murders: Vutomi buried after six-month search and ransom

The family of Vutomi Mathebula laid the 28-year-old to rest in Limpopo on Thursday, six months after she disappeared and days after relatives identified her remains.

Family members, friends and residents gathered at the Mathebula home in Homu 14-A near Giyani before proceeding to the local cemetery.

The family held a memorial service on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s funeral.

Mathebula disappeared on 22 March after telling her family she was going shopping at Dragon City.

When she failed to return and relatives could no longer reach her, they reported her missing the following day.

Police found her body in Olifantsfontein, near Kempton Park, on 14 September, nearly six months after her disappearance. She became the eighth of the nine women found dead across Ekurhuleni to be identified.

Family paid ransom while searching for Vutomi

Her family spent months searching for her while believing she might still be alive.

According to a report, family spokesperson Tiyiselani Maringa said unknown callers contacted relatives after Mathebula disappeared and demanded money for her return.

The family paid R3 000 after the callers allegedly threatened to kill her if they did not send the money.

The callers later demanded another R2 500.

Relatives asked to speak to Mathebula but never got the chance.

Her mother, Emma Mathebula, said the family borrowed money and continued searching in the hope that her daughter would come home.

She reportedly said that knowing where her daughter is buried now gives her somewhere to go when she misses her.

Family identified Vutomi at mortuary

Mathebula’s body had decomposed by the time her family identified her at the mortuary.

Maringa said her uncle recognised her from her hairstyle and clothing.

Mathebula worked as a cleaner and leaves behind a five-year-old child. Her mother said the child had struggled with the news of her death.

Her family remembered her as a supportive and respectful woman who cared for her child.

Emma described her daughter as someone who was always smiling and disciplined.

One of nine women found dead in Ekurhuleni

Mathebula is one of nine women whose bodies police found across Ekurhuleni between July and September.

Police found her in Olifantsfontein on 14 September.

The other victims include Busisiwe Mahlangu, Itumeleng Kekana, Nomfesane Mjobo, Gracious Nkomo, Elizabeth Moselakgomo, Dineo Motapane and Jabulile Ntimba.

One woman, whose body police found in the Clayville River in Olifantsfontein on 7 September, remained unidentified in the latest confirmed victim list.

Police have not established that all nine killings are linked.

Investigators are examining each murder while also looking for possible connections between the cases.

Forensics give police new leads

Mathebula’s burial comes as police report progress in the wider Ekurhuleni investigation.

Acting Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection Lieutenant-General Hilda Senthumule told Parliament this week that forensic investigations were helping detectives link some persons of interest to identified victims.

Police have not named those persons of interest or revealed what forensic evidence established the links.

Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni has also stressed that investigators still cannot confirm that a serial killer is responsible for the deaths.

For Mathebula’s family, Thursday marked the end of a six-month search that began when she left home in March and never returned.

She was buried in the community where she grew up, while police continue investigating who killed her and the other women found across Ekurhuleni.