<\/p>\n
The latest body was discovered on Saturday evening, September 12, intensifying concern about the deaths in and around Rhodesfield, east of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Preliminary investigations found similarities in the circumstances surrounding the deaths. The women were reportedly found partially clothed, with visible bruising, and the bodies were discovered within the same vicinity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, SAPS said investigators had not established whether the deaths were connected or involved a serial killer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile investigations are still underway and we have not confirmed that these deaths are linked to a serial killer, the similarities are sufficiently concerning for us to issue a public warning and intensify our investigations,\u201d National Police Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane instructed Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni to establish the task team immediately.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The investigation will be led by Gauteng Deputy Provincial Commissioner Major-General Mbuso Khumalo and will include detectives from the Murder and Robbery Unit, Investigative Psychology Unit and other specialised disciplines.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Khumalo has been instructed to pursue every possible line of inquiry to establish what happened to each woman and whether the cases are linked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safety of women remains a priority for SAPS,\u201d Mathe said. \u201cWe will not wait for further incidents before taking decisive action.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Police urged women in Kempton Park, particularly Rhodesfield and surrounding areas, to avoid walking or running alone in isolated places.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Residents were advised to remain alert, avoid secluded areas and travel or exercise in groups where possible.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SAPS also appealed to residents, motorists, security personnel and community members who may have witnessed suspicious activity to provide information.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSAPS is taking these incidents extremely seriously,\u201d Mathe said. \u201cSpecialised police resources have been mobilised to establish the circumstances surrounding these deaths and bring those responsible to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–SABC\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44030,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-45336","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The South African (SA) Police Service (SAPS) has formed a multidisciplinary task team after four women were found dead in the same area of Kempton Park, in Ekurhuleni, within two months.","published_date":"","news_description":"The South African (SA) Police Service (SAPS) has formed a multidisciplinary task team after four women were found dead in the same area of Kempton Park, in Ekurhuleni, within two months.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45337,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45336\/revisions\/45337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=45336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}