Body of 10th woman found in South Africa as probe into killings continues

JOHANNESBURG — Another woman’s body was found near Johannesburg, bringing to 10 the number of victims in a series of killings under investigation, South African police said Saturday.

Police began investigating after the bodies of three women were found in July and August within about 4.3 miles of one another in the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg.

The discovery of six bodies in Ekurhuleni over 10 days earlier this month raised fears that a serial killer or killers were responsible.

Two women were arrested and charged last week with murder in relation to the ninth body, discovered on Sept. 17. The victim had been stabbed and had her throat cut, police said. Police did not link the two women charged to any of the other killings.

Provincial police commissioner Lt. Gen. Tommy Mthombeni told state broadcaster SABC on Saturday that investigators believed the ninth killing was an isolated case but could not rule out the possibility that some of the other cases were linked.

Police have identified similarities in some of the killings but said they had not found conclusive evidence that the same person or people were responsible.

All nine of the bodies discovered before Saturday were those of…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business