Sources say more than one killer could be behind the deaths of five women found around Kempton Park as investigators search for links.
The latest murder victim in Kempton Park, Elizabeth ‘Tsontso’ Moselakgomo. Picture Supplied
The possibility that more than one killer could be responsible for the deaths of five women found around Kempton Park has emerged as investigators pull apart a series of murders that initially raised fears of a serial killer operating in the area.
The latest body was discovered near the R21, closer to Olifantsfontein on Monday morning, while police have confirmed that a suspect arrested in connection with the first woman’s murder in July remains behind bars.
Sources close to the investigation said police are examining whether the deaths could involve different perpetrators rather than a single person hunting women. It comes as the family of missing runner Elizabeth Tsontso Moselakgom, 38, confirmed on Monday that the body found in Kempton Park on Saturday had been positively identified as hers.
Not enough evidence for serial killer theory
A person close to the investigation said the Kempton Park station commander told a closed meeting on Monday that police do not at this moment believe there is sufficient evidence to conclude that a serial killer is responsible. The commander reportedly told the meeting that the cases did not all share the same modus operandi.
Other individuals close to the investigation said differences between the deaths, despite the victims all being women and several bodies being discovered around the R21 and surrounding Kempton Park area, have complicated attempts to establish a common thread.
Sources said the station commander told Monday’s meeting that six murders had been recorded in Kempton Park over the past two months, but indicated at least two involved male foreign nationals and were believed to be unrelated to the deaths of the women.
The deaths have nevertheless forced police to revisit earlier cases. Sources said the commander described the latest investigation as a “wake-up call” which prompted detectives to go back through previous murders to determine whether connections had been missed.
Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane on Monday confirmed that a multidisciplinary team of detectives and specialised policing resources had been ordered to intensify investigations.
Police said the team was examining the circumstances surrounding each death, analysing evidence and attempting to establish possible links.
More than one perpetrator?
Dimpane vowed that police would pursue whoever was responsible.
“We will not rest until we have established the truth. Where there is evidence linking individuals to these crimes, we will pursue them relentlessly and ensure that they face the full might of the law,” she said.
DA member of the provincial legislature and local political head Mike Waters, who attended Monday’s meeting, said it left him with more questions than answers. “We were told there’s a provincial task team that’s been set up,” he said.
Waters said it remained unclear whether investigators assigned to the team would concentrate exclusively on the deaths and called for additional policing resources to be urgently deployed across Kempton Park.
He was also critical of communication with residents as fear spread through the community.
“You can understand women in particular are very scared for their safety. That’s why we need proper communication and more visible policing throughout Kempton Park.”
DA Ward 17 councillor Simon Lapping, whose ward includes Rhodesfield, said police communication had been inadequate. He said information about the killings should have been communicated through community policing structures rather than residents first learning about the threat through media reports.
Moselakgom’s family said identifying her body had ended days of agonising uncertainty after she failed to return home on 9 September. Her family had searched for her and circulated missing-person notices hoping she would be found alive. She leaves behind a minor child.
The family said it now wanted the circumstances surrounding her death thoroughly investigated and those responsible brought to justice.
