South Africa Finds 9 Women Dead in Gauteng as Serial Killer Fears Fuel Femicide Protests
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 18
South Africa Finds 9 Women Dead in Gauteng as Serial Killer Fears Fuel Femicide Protests
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 18
Summary
A ninth woman's body was found in Dawn Park on Wednesday, extending a two-month cluster of killings in eastern Gauteng that has raised fears of a serial murderer.
Eight of the nine victims—ages 20 to 38—showed signs of sexual assault, police said, and most were bruised and partially or fully undressed; at least one woman had her throat slit.
One suspect was arrested after the first body was found on July 15 in Kempton Park, but police have not said whether he is linked to the other deaths.
Women in black marched in Ekurhuleni on Thursday demanding an end to femicide, while President Cyril Ramaphosa said investigators would leave “no stone left unturned.”
South Africa kills women at five times the global average, according to U.N. Women, and activists warned the case could also trigger anti-immigrant backlash after police said the arrested suspect was a foreigner.