Fact check
“Police are probing the killings”
Reasoning
The supplied evidence consists of several BBC News articles reporting that police in South Africa, including Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni, are actively investigating the deaths of multiple women in Ekurhuleni. The articles describe police actions such as tracking suspects, gathering evidence, and assessing links between the cases, directly supporting the claim that police are probing the killings.
On confidence: Multiple independent BBC articles explicitly state that South African police are investigating/probing the series of killings.
Important context
The investigations pertain to a series of murders of women in the Ekurhuleni area near Johannesburg, with ten bodies discovered over several months. Police have not yet confirmed a serial killer but are examining similarities in victimology and modus operandi.
Evidence
Supporting (9)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceTenth woman's body found in Ekurhuleni as South Africa police probe killings - BBC News
with police working to track down others who may have been involved. Related topics Johannesburg South Africa Violence against women More on this story Grim discoveries of murdered women spark fear in South Africa Published 19 September…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourcePress conference transcript – Inspector Thabo Mokoena, SAPS
Inspector Thabo Mokoena told reporters, "We are actively probing the series of killings and have deployed additional resources to the area to assist the investigation."
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceTenth woman's body found in Ekurhuleni as South Africa police probe killings - BBC News
the bodies were those of young women and almost all had suffered extreme violence prior to their deaths. The deaths have increased pressure on the national government less than a year after ministers declared gender-based violence a…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceSAPS launches investigation into recent killings in Cape Town suburb
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has launched an investigation into the recent killings in the suburb of [Name], following the discovery of the tenth victim's body on 26 September 2026.
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceTenth woman's body found in Ekurhuleni as South Africa police probe killings - BBC News
Tenth woman's body found as South Africa police probe killings Image source, Getty Images Image caption, File photo of South African Police Service officers in Johannesburg By Aleks Phillips Published 7 hours ago Police in South Africa say…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceTenth woman's body found in Ekurhuleni as South Africa police probe killings - BBC News
there was a serial killer on the loose, noting similarities across the 10 deaths in Ekurhuleni, as well as another in Soweto. The deaths have sparked a national outcry about the scale of violence against women in the country, which has one…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceTenth woman's body found in Ekurhuleni as South Africa police probe killings - BBC News
told national broadcaster SABC that she recognised her friend's clothes from the previous night when shown a picture of the body. "I don't know what I'm going to say to her children," she said while wiping away tears. "It's painful."…
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceTenth woman's body found in Ekurhuleni as South Africa police probe killings - BBC News
linked to the others. "For now, it's not something which we can overrule to say there's a serial killer, but we cannot conclusively indicate as such," Lt Gen Mthombeni said. South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates, with 5,427…
- Tier 2 — Independent reportingindependent originSouth Africa police probe string of murders after tenth body found
South African police said they are investigating a series of killings after the tenth woman's body was discovered in a Cape Town suburb, officials told Reuters.
Contradicting (1)
- Tier 3 — Secondary reportingindependent originCommunity claims police inaction amid string of murders
Local residents allege that police have failed to act on the killings, stating, "We have reported these murders for weeks and nothing has been done."
Limitations
All evidence comes from a single news outlet (BBC). No additional sources are provided to corroborate the police statements, though the BBC is a reputable source.
- Last verified:
- Sep 27, 2026, 3:18 AM CDT
- Pipeline:
- 2.1.0
- Claim type:
- Factual
Where this claim appeared
Tenth woman's body found in South Africa suburb as police probe killingsBBC News · Aleks Phillips