KILLING SPREE: ‘We are scared as women,’ say Kempton Park residents after fifth body is found

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> Three women’s bodies have been found in the broader Kempton Park area in the last week, five since July, with similarities in the cases raising concerns that they may be victims of a serial killer.

Elizabeth Moselakgomo was the “glue of the family”. The 38-year-old Rhodesfield, Kempton Park, resident held the family together, according to her uncle and the family’s spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Andries Mataila.

“Tsontso”, as she was known to those close to her, had a particularly close bond with her eight-year-old daughter. According to Mataila, that’s what prompted the child to alert relatives just “minutes” after her mother failed to return from her run at her usual time on Wednesday, 9 September.

Moselakgomo’s body was discovered on Saturday, 12 September, behind a hotel in Rhodesfield. Her family identified her remains at the Germiston Mortuary on Monday afternoon, 14 September.

She was one of five women who have been found dead in Kempton Park and the adjacent area since July, with the killings prompting police to intensify investigations, while warning the public against speculation that a serial killer may be operating in the area.

The latest victim was discovered on Monday morning after a passerby spotted her body on Porcelain Avenue in Olifantsfontein and alerted authorities. The unidentified woman was found partially naked and bruised in the street, where police suspect she was dumped.

During the forensic investigation at the scene, the SAPS deployed its K9 unit to assist in uncovering physical evidence. The body was later taken to the Germiston Mortuary.

Police have not confirmed whether the five deaths are linked. However, similarities between the cases have raised concern.

The five victims were all black women in their thirties; their bodies were found in Kempton Park and nearby Olifantsfontein, all partially or completely naked. Their bodies also had visible injuries, although the severity varied between cases.

At Moselakgomo’s family home in Rhodesfield, her uncle Isaac Nkadimeng and Mataila reflected on her life and the painful timeline surrounding her disappearance.

Moselakgomo, a retail manager at Festival Mall, was remembered by relatives as a devoted mother, churchgoer and professional.

Addressing how her eight-year-old daughter was coping, Mataila noted that the police psychology unit was assisting the family, adding that the child was with psychologists and it remained unclear whether she had yet been informed of her mother’s death.

Moselakgomo was an avid runner who regularly trained along Main Road in Rhodesfield. When she failed to return from an early evening run on 9 September, her young daughter immediately alerted family members, who reported her missing to the police.

A missing-persons alert for Moselakgomo circulated widely on social media and printed flyers were posted across the streets of Rhodesfield.