Key facts
- Three suspects have been arrested in South Africa in connection with the murders of nine women.
- The victims' bodies were found in the area east of Johannesburg over the past two months.
- Police described the arrests as a "breakthrough" in the case.
- Acting police chief Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane stated officers are working to bring those responsible to justice.
- Some victims were found partially clothed and with injuries.
- Police are investigating whether all nine deaths are connected.
Three suspects have been detained in South Africa in connection with the murder of a woman, a development described as a "breakthrough" by police under pressure to solve a spate of nine murders in the Johannesburg region. The bodies of the women, all in their 20s and 30s, were discovered over the past two months on the outskirts of the country's commercial capital, with some found partially clothed and injured.
Acting police chief Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane said her officers were "working tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice." The three suspects, a man and two women, are due in court on Monday morning. Police have not yet established whether all the deaths are connected or if a serial killer is responsible, though some similarities in the first eight cases were considered "sufficiently concerning" to issue a public warning.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed that "no stone will be unturned" in the investigation, and authorities are offering a reward of 400,000 South African rand ($25,000) for information leading to the apprehension of the perpetrator or perpetrators. The killings have highlighted the country's high rates of gender-based violence and femicide, with the UN noting South Africa has one of the highest femicide rates globally.