A 32-year man has been arrested for allegedly murdering a 30-year-old woman near Howick, police said on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Henry Budhram said the woman's body was found by a passerby in a forest near the small settlement of Curry's Post, north of Howick, on Tuesday.
The woman, who was not fully clothed, had been found with her legs and hands tied with a belt and she had open wounds to the head.
Budhram said the fact that the woman was partly naked indicated that she may have been raped. A post mortem would be held shortly.
The man was arrested at Mpopomeni near Pietermaritzburg late Tuesday evening and was expected to appear in the Howick Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Budhram said he did not believe the death was linked to killer, known as the "Sleepy Hollow" murderer, who is known to have killed at least 13 women in and around Pietermaritzburg. - Sapa