Police form task team after fifth woman's body found near Kempton Park

eNCA reports that police have assembled a dedicated multidisciplinary team to investigate the deaths of women in and around Kempton Park, and that the team was holding an urgent meeting in Midrand on Monday. You can read the original report here.

The meeting followed the discovery of a fifth woman’s body near Kempton Park on Monday morning. A passerby found the body beside the road in Olifantsfontein. It was partially clothed. Police suspect the woman was killed between Sunday night and the early hours of Monday.

The site lies about 20 minutes from where police found the bodies of four other women in Kempton Park over a period of two months.

What the police say about the four earlier cases

Police say the four previous cases share similarities, but they have not confirmed whether the deaths are linked.

“We will rely on the experts to advise accordingly,” police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said. “The detectives and investigative psychology unit will have to look at all the evidence that will be gathered from all the scenes. They will map out exactly what is happening.”

Mathe said police were concerned but had full confidence in the team. “We are hoping that soon there will be a lead, but for now there is still a lot of work to be done. The evidence will guide us as time goes by,” she said.

The Gauteng acting provincial commissioner is expected to visit the scene on Monday afternoon.

A missing jogger, and a warning to women in the area

The new case comes as police intensify efforts to find Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, a jogger who disappeared last week after leaving her home for an afternoon run. Her disappearance has raised concern in the area, and the search for her continues.

Mathe cautioned women in the area to remain vigilant and to avoid exercising alone.

“This is not a way to restrict the movement of women, but it’s to ensure that while police investigate, we take precautionary measures while we figure out if we’re dealing with a serial killer or one or a group of people who are behind these killings,” she said.

The evidence will guide us as time goes by.

What it means for people living there

For residents of Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein and the surrounding East Rand suburbs, the practical effect is already visible. A woman who would ordinarily run or walk in the late afternoon or early evening now has a police instruction to avoid doing it alone, and a search under way for a neighbour who did exactly that.

The investigative load is now shared across a team rather than a single station, which is what the multidisciplinary structure is for. Detectives will work the scenes, and the investigative psychology unit will examine what the evidence from each of them has in common.

That work is what will determine whether these cases are treated as a series. Until it reports, police have not drawn that conclusion, and the families of the four women found earlier still do not have an answer on whether their cases are connected.

The immediate next step is the acting provincial commissioner’s visit to the Olifantsfontein scene on Monday afternoon, and the continuing search for Moselakgomo.

Source: eNCA. Read the original item.