BLOEMFONTEIN – The three women killed execution-style in Bloemfontein early in February are yet to be identified, in addition to establishing their country of origin. The police are continuing their investigation regarding the victims’ identities and are also piecing together evidence to link an unlicensed firearm to five undocumented foreign male suspects.
Sgt. Mahlomola Kareli, police spokesperson for the Free State, has confirmed this, and has provided details about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the victims’ bodies, at separate locations on the weekend of 7 and 8 February.
The investigation revealed that all three victims were fatally shot with an unknown type of firearm. The police confirmed that the victims had bullet wounds to their bodies and that the motive for the murders remained under investigation.
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The body of the first victim, estimated to be in her 30s, was found beside Meadows Road in Springfield on 7 February. The victim was wearing blue jeans, a yellow striped short-sleeved T-shirt, and white Fila sneakers.
The bodies of the other two victims were found in the Namibia Square area on 8 February at around 01:50. One of the victims was wearing light blue jeans and a green hoodie, while the other was wearing a blue denim top with black denim jeans. Both roughly in their 20s, they had gunshot wounds to the back of the head.
The investigation has identified a Lesotho national, Maliehe Maliehi (34), as the prime suspect in the shooting of two women, allegedly over alcohol. He was arrested on 8 February together with four other undocumented men. They were travelling in a minibus in the Namibia residential settlement. The vehicle is also being investigated.
Kareli said the recovered firearm would be sent for ballistic testing, and the report made public if it had been the same one used in all three incidents.
The police are appealing for public assistance to help solve the murders of the three victims, as well as to identify them. Anyone with helpful information is requested to contact the investigating officer, Lt Col. Rankhala David Ramasoala, on 082 527 7390, or Sgt. Morena Machalotsa of Provincial Serious and Violent Crime (Murder and Robbery unit) on 073 729 1732.
Alternatively, information can be submitted via the My SAPS app, or by dialling the SAPS Crime Stop number: 08600 10111.
