BREAKING | Three arrested for murder of woman found dead in Dawn Park, Gauteng - IOL
Three people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a woman in Dawn Park on Friday.
Three people are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate's Court on Monday in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was found in Dawn Park in Ekurhuleni on Friday.Β
The woman's mutilated body was discovered by a passer-by.Β
She was the 9th victim in the string of murder cases being investigated by police.Β
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathre said a man and two women were arrested over the weekend by theΒ Gauteng Murder and Robbery Unit in connection with the murder.
The woman, believed to be about 30, was found partially clothed in an open area on Lama Street in Villa Lisa on September 17.
She was partially naked and suffered a fatal throat injury, police said.
Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, said police were treating all nine murder cases as a priority.
βWe remain committed to ensuring that these investigations are pursued with the urgency and determination they require.
Our investigators are following all available leads and are working tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice,β Dimpane said.
Police said further details about the case would be presented in court.
The arrests come after three suspects were called in for questioning following the discovery of nine bodies in the Kempton Park and Ekurhuleni areas over a two-month period.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia disclosed the development during a briefing with journalists on Sunday following a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC).
Cachalia said Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo and KZN provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had been called in to assist with the Ekurhuleni murder investigations.
He also confirmed increased police deployments in parts of Ekurhuleni, including KwaThema, Nigel and Dawn Park, after authorities placed the areas under lockdown.
βThe community in Ekurhuleni needs to understand that their safety is our priority, and that we are deploying these resources to assure the community that their safety is a priority, as well as our commitment to bringing the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to book,β Cachalia said.
The first woman was found on July 15 in a field in Kempton Park.
She was 37 and was found naked with her hands bound with cable ties.
A suspect was arrested two days later.
Her identity and cause of death have not been publicly disclosed.
On July 17, 32-year-old Itumeleng Kekana went missing in Kempton Park.
Her family searched hospitals, police stations and mortuaries before her body was found on August 3 on Great North Road in Pomona.
She left behind her parents and a 14-year-old daughter.
On August 24, a 32-year-old woman was found partially clothed near the R21.
Her identity and cause of death have not been publicly disclosed.
On September 7, the body of a woman believed to be in her late 20s was found in a river in Clayville, near the Mall of Tembisa.
She was wearing only her underwear.
Three days later, on September 10, a womanβs body was found near the R21 in Kempton Park.
Her family later identified her as 28-year-old Gracious Nkomo.
Police said she had been found partially clothed.
Around the same time, 38-year-old Elizabeth βTsontsoβ Moselakgomo was found dead behind a hotel in Rhodesfield after going out for her usual run.
Her family later identified her. She was buried over the weekend in Mpumalanga.
On September 14, a semi-naked woman with bruising was found in Olifantsfontein.
She has not been publicly identified.
The following day, 38-year-old Dineo Evelyn Motapane was found beside a road in KwaThema, Springs. Preliminary pathology findings indicated that she had been strangled.
Her family identified her at Springs Mortuary.
The ninth body was found on September 17 in an open area on Lama Street in Dawn Park.
