A 34-year-old man has been arrested after being linked to the murder of a woman whose decomposed body was recovered from a chimney almost a year ago, police said on Monday.

Captain Daniel Mavimbela said the man was arrested in Mamelodi, northeast of Pretoria, on Friday. He said this followed “meticulous investigations”.

The body of the 28-year-old woman, from the Free State, was found inside the building of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Pretoria in December last year.

She was reported missing on December 22, after she allegedly disappeared from work during a tea break.

Mavimbela said the woman was employed by a company that rendered a private service within the department.

Her decomposed body was discovered by a security guard on December 28, during the department’s Christmas break.

The man is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday on a charge of murder.