Police tie Kempton Park murder suspect to open field as they trace his fingerprints

A man arrested over the death of a woman whose body was found in an open field near the R21 in Kempton Park is being held at the Modderbee Correctional Facility in Benoni while investigators work to establish who he is and what else he may be connected to.

The woman was found on 15 July, naked and restrained with cable ties. The suspect appeared in court on Wednesday, where the matter was postponed. He remains in custody.

The case is one of several in which the bodies of women have been recovered in Ekurhuleni, and police are treating the question of a link between them as open.

What police have said

Deputy National Police Commissioner for Policing, Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili, said investigators are using fingerprints to establish the suspect’s nationality. She said police had been told the man is not South African, but that this has not been confirmed and the country he comes from has not been established.

“We want to get the fingerprints from police and the prison so that we can confirm the nationality,” Mosikili said. “At the moment, we cannot say, yes, he’s a non-South African, but we have been informed that he’s a non-South African. But from which country, that is what we will establish later today.”

She said police are also gathering additional intelligence on the suspect to determine whether he could be linked to any of the other bodies recovered in the area.

Two more bodies were found in the same vicinity after the first woman’s body was recovered. Police say further investigation will be key to establishing whether the cases are connected and whether the suspect may be linked to any additional murders.

What is not yet established

Police have not said the cases are linked, and no charge has been brought against the suspect in connection with any of the other deaths. His nationality is unconfirmed. The court date to which the matter was postponed has not been given.

What this means for the people living here

Families in Kempton Park, Dawn Park and the surrounding informal settlements have spent weeks waiting for answers about women who did not come home. That waiting is the practical effect of an investigation that is still assembling its basic facts, and it is the reason each postponement matters to people who are following the case in court.

The arrest is a step in a process that has produced one suspect and no confirmed link to the other deaths. The fingerprint work now under way is what will determine whether the case widens or stays where it is.

The state’s response

The South African Police Service has a suspect in custody, has placed a deputy national commissioner in front of the public to account for the investigation, and has said it is pursuing the intelligence that would connect or separate the cases. That is the work the law requires of it, and it is being done in the open rather than behind a statement.

Where the investigation has not yet produced an answer, the question is a fair one to put to the police, and Mosikili has answered it directly, saying the confirmation is outstanding and expected.

What happens next

The suspect remains in custody at Modderbee, and the matter returns to court on the postponed date. The fingerprint comparison is expected to settle his nationality, and the intelligence gathering will determine whether he is charged in connection with any of the other bodies found in Ekurhuleni.

Source: eNCA, Police yet to confirm nationality of suspect in Ekurhuleni woman’s murder