The South African Police Service has launched a multidisciplinary manhunt after two women were found murdered in separate abandoned buildings in Theunissen, Free State, over the weekend.
The victims were identified as 32-year-old Nthabiseng Moiloa and 25-year-old Kedibone Hlabahlaba.
Theunissen is a mining town about 45km from Welkom in the Lejweleputswa District.
The first body was found on Saturday after police were called to a possible murder scene in Le Roux Street at about 3.40am.
Officers met a member of the neighbourhood watch, who led them to an abandoned building.
Inside, they found an African woman lying motionless. She was half-naked and had sustained multiple injuries to her head and stomach.
Emergency Medical Services personnel declared her dead at the scene.
Free State police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thabo Covane said preliminary investigations indicated that Moiloa had suffered multiple stab wounds.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that she was sexually assaulted.
Her next of kin later identified her as Moiloa.
Second body found by children
The second body was discovered on Sunday at another abandoned building in Masilo, Theunissen.
A group of children were reportedly playing near the building, close to a day care centre, when they made the discovery.
The children found the half-naked body of a woman inside a toilet. The woman had sustained serious head injuries and her body was already in a state of decomposition.
Police identified the victim as Hlabahlaba, who was 25 years old.
The two bodies were found at separate crime scenes and police have not confirmed that the murders were connected.
The motive for either murder remains unknown.
No arrests have been made.
Investigators have not announced whether any weapons were found, whether the women knew each other or whether police have identified a possible suspect or suspects.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths will be established through the separate investigations, post-mortem examinations and forensic work at both scenes.
Serious and Violent Crime Unit leads investigation
Free State Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thabang Solomon Lesia has established a multidisciplinary task team to investigate the murders and find the person or people responsible.
The team is being led by the Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit.
A multidisciplinary investigation may include detectives, forensic investigators, crime intelligence officers and other police units working together to identify suspects and establish whether evidence links the two crime scenes.
Investigators are expected to examine the abandoned buildings, collect forensic evidence and determine the movements of the victims before they were killed.
They will also need to establish who had access to the buildings and whether anyone saw suspicious people or vehicles near the scenes.
Police have not released details about the women’s last known movements or whether either of them had been reported missing.
The investigation remains at an early stage.
Police appeal for information
SAPS has appealed to anyone with information about the murders to contact the task team.
Information can be given to Task Team Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Jame Mahlatsi on 073 463 8990 or to Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Anonymous tip-offs can also be sent through the MySAPS mobile application.
Police said information received through the anonymous channels would be treated with strict confidentiality.
Members of the public who may have seen unusual activity near the abandoned buildings, heard noises during the relevant periods or know where either woman was before her death are urged to contact investigators.
Police have warned the public not to approach anyone they suspect of involvement. Information should be reported to law enforcement so that it can be assessed and investigated safely.
Murders come before 16 Days campaign
The killings come shortly before South Africa’s 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign.
The national campaign will run from 25 November to 10 December 2026. It is held annually between the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Human Rights Day.
The Free State SAPS is preparing to launch its campaign in the Lejweleputswa District at Odendaalsrus.
Covane said the timing of the murders had made the cases particularly serious for police and the community.
“These brutal murders come as the South African Police Service in the Free State Province is about to launch the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in the Lejeweleputswa District at Odendaalsrus,” Covane said.
The campaign is intended to raise awareness of violence against women and children and to encourage communities to report abuse and support victims.
The government’s 2026 campaign information says the 16 Days programme forms part of a wider 365 Days of Activism against violence and calls on communities to report abusers and reject conduct that enables gender-based violence.
The murders in Theunissen have placed the focus on the safety of women in smaller towns, where abandoned buildings can become isolated spaces and where residents may be reluctant to share information with police because of fear or uncertainty.
Police do not yet link the cases
The discovery of two murdered women in the same town within two days has raised questions about whether the incidents are related.
Police have not said that they are linked.
The first case involves a woman found with multiple injuries, including stab wounds, in an abandoned building on Le Roux Street. The second involves a woman found in a toilet at another abandoned building in Masilo with serious head injuries and a body already in decomposition.
The differences between the scenes and the condition of the bodies will form part of the forensic investigation.
Only investigators can determine whether the same person or group was involved.
At this stage, there is no confirmed motive for either murder and no suspect has been arrested.
It would also be premature to describe the deaths as a serial killing or to state that they were both gender-based violence cases until police and prosecutors have established the circumstances.
Police are investigating the murders as separate cases while examining all possible links.
Community waits for answers
Residents are now waiting for information about the investigation and for the arrests promised by the task team.
The first discovery was made after a neighbourhood watch member guided police to the abandoned building. The second was made by children playing near the Masilo building.
Those details have highlighted how the bodies were found by members of the public rather than through an arrest or a known suspect being brought before court.
Police have not disclosed whether the abandoned buildings have previously been reported as crime hotspots or whether additional patrols have been deployed in the area.
The task team will have to work quickly to preserve evidence and locate witnesses who may have information about what happened before the women died.
SAPS has condemned the killings and said it remains committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
For now, the two families are mourning, the motive remains unclear and the suspected killer or killers remain at large.
The investigation is continuing.