South African police on Saturday discovered the body of another woman in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, bringing the number of women found de@d in the municipality over the past two months to 10, as investigators work to determine whether the deaths are connected.
Police said the body was found in Tembisa township but gave no further details.
“At this stage, we can only confirm the discovery of the body. Crime scene management and all the necessary role players are currently on the scene,” Police Spokeswoman Brigadier Brenda Muridili said.
Local television station eNCA reported that the semi-naked body was found at a cemetery.
The nine earlier victims were mostly in their 20s and 30s, and some were found stripped of their clothes and showing signs of s£xu@l ass@ult.
The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found n@ked and bound with cable ties on July 15. A suspect was arrested two days later.
Two women, aged 31 and 38, were charged on Monday in connection with the death of the ninth victim.
Police have said that the case may have stemmed from a relationship-related matter.
Police have offered a 400,000 rand ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers, while the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, has put up a further $31,000.
Last week, the South African government said the national Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Command Centre received 6,782 distress calls between September 1 and 16, an average of 424 a day.
That was a 21 percent increase from the same period in August, when the centre averaged 350 calls a day.
South Africa, a nation of 62 million people, has one of the world’s highest murder rates, with more than 60 k!llings a day on average.