True Crime South Africa

On the 9th of July 2004, 21-year-old Leigh Matthews was abducted from outside her university. Her kidnapper soon made contact and initiated an emotional roller coaster for her parents which would end with tragic results. Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In 1997, the man who had been hunting young couples at Wemmer Pan for a year was arrested. There was another maniac stalking the streets of Johannesburg though, attacking and killing tailors with a hammer. Police would soon discover that the Wemmer Pan serial killer was actually also the Hammer Killer and there were many more horrendous crimes to be added to his list. Cedric Maake rewrote the textbooks on serial killers using five different methods of killing, no clear victim profile and the ability to adapt his viciousness to any situation. (24-hour Trauma Helpline: 082-821-3447) Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

On the 20th of May 2014, 17 police officers and three social workers pulled up outside a double-storey house in a busy road in Springs on the East Rand of Gauteng. They’d received a complaint regarding a child at risk within the house. What they would discover beyond the seemingly, normal façade of this family home disturbed even seasoned child protection officers. (24-hour Trauma Helpline: 082-821-3447) Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

The annual commemoration of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence began on the 25th of November and runs until the 10th of December. This week True Crime South Africa dedicates its Spotlight minisode to crimes of this nature (24-hour Trauma Helpline: 082-821-3447) (Listener Voice Notes by Whatsapp: 060-758-9950) Brew Crime Podcast · Cargumentative Podcast · Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

On Monday, the 18th of August 2008, 18-year-old Morné Harmse arrived at his school in Krugersdorp. Armed with three swords and replica masks resembling those worn by heavy metal band, Slipknot, he went on a rampage taking one innocent life and seriously wounding three other people. The investigation into the horrendous act would reveal possible links to Satanism, an unstable home life and accusations of bullying (Community Intervention Centre 24-hr Trauma Helpline 082-821-3447) tbe2dqhh Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

This week in True Crime South Africa’s Spotlight minisode we reveal the details behind a 12-year-old cold case that was recently solved through the hard work of a dedicated detective and a slam-dunk DNA match. Body part discoveries were another hot topic in true crime news this week with a skull being uncovered at a building site in Rustenburg and police divers scouring Durban harbour for a severed arm. We also delve into the kidnapping for ransom cases that have made headlines and exploded on social media recently and discuss whether sharing the details of these cases on social platforms is really helpful or is it doing more harm than good? (https://www.jacarandafm.com/shows/breakfast-martin-bester/forensic-psychologist-dr-g%C3%A9rard-labuschagne-shares-his-views-kidnappings/) (https://iono.fm/c/3763) (https://www.spreaker.com/user/fuller/the-true-crume-files-podcast-promo) (24-hour trauma helpline 082 821 3447) Gerard Labuschagne on kidnappings · Sunday Times Travel Podcast · The True Crime Files Podcast · Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In 1995 a serial killer prowled the streets of Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal. He would take the lives of two teenage girls and leave two other young women traumatised before seemingly disappearing into thin air. (Community Intervention Centre (24-hour Trauma Helpline 082-821-3447) Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In this week's Spotlight minisode: Is Sean Kelly - the alleged hammer murderer from Sedgefield - involved in the disappearance of Marie Ostbo? We also discuss updates on South African murderer in Alaska, Brian Smith and progress on the case of missing 8-year-old, Amahle Thabethe. (24-hour trauma helpline 082-821-3447) Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In 2003, Wesley Julyan was 18-years-old when he was convicted of the murder of Kenneth van Aardt. He and his accomplice had strangled the man with a shoelace, walking away from their horrendous crime with just R 70. Julyan was sentenced to 13 years in prison which was eventually increased to 20 years on appeal. He was paroled in 2009 after having served just 5 years of his sentence. Eight years later, four members of Wesley Julyan’s family were found deceased after a house fire. His brother Jeffrey Julyan, Jeffrey’s 9-year-old son Ethan, his 16-year-old stepdaughter Kayla and his father-in-law Peter, all perished, seemingly victims of the fire. Autopsy results and evidence found at the scene, though, would tell a very different story. https://crimesunlimited.com/podcast/ Visit our website for sources related to this episode: www.truecrimesouthafrica.com Sources · Link to Crimes Unlimited podcast · Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In this week's spotlight minisode we discuss a South African killer in Alaska who filmed his crime as well as the murder of a young mother who was viciously stabbed to death while on holiday. (24-hour trauma helpline: 082-821-3447) Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In March 2005, Carol Thompson received the news that no mother should ever have to hear. The body of her 24-year-old daughter Tracey, who had been missing for a week, had been found on a piece of agricultural land just outside Benoni. While that call ended all hope for her safe return and the life that their family had lived together, it started another journey for Carol. She would soon discover that the inadequacies she had experienced from the police and justice system during the week that her daughter was missing were not a once-off occurrence. For the next two years, Carol Thompson fought the system and individuals within it to do their jobs and solve the murder of her daughter. https://www.takealot.com/blood-on-her hands/PLID54630371/product-information https://www.facebook.com/Betrayed.Carol.Thompson/ Buy Blood on her Hands · Visit Carol Thompson's FB page · Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In 1996, Moses Sithole was sentenced to 2410 years in prison for a prolific series of murders. The mind of a man who could commit such atrocities has been a fascination to professionals and the public alike. Many journalists attempted to interview him and Moses was not short of prospective pen pals – well-meaning individuals who were interested in communicating with him in the hopes that they could truly understand his psyche. One such person was Charmaine Ó Neale. She first visited Moses as part of a prison ministry program in 2004 and they began to communicate by letter. In True Crime South Africa’s first interview, we talk to Charmaine about those experiences. She reads us parts of the letters and cards she received from Moses Sithole and tells us how she realised that something very dark was happening in their communications. Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

Moses Sithole has the highest body count of any convicted serial killer in South Africa. For two years in the 1990s, he terrorised the women of Atteridgeville, Boksburg and Cleveland earning him the moniker of the ABC Killer. Community Intervention Centre (24-hour Trauma helpline: 082 821 3447); see www.truecrimesouthafrica.com for a list of our sources Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In September 2018, South Africa woke up to the horrifying news that a 7-year-old girl had been raped in the toilets of a restaurant in Pretoria. The outrage was fuelled by video footage taken by a bystander of the offender being confronted. A year later, September 2019 saw the man accused go to trial. In this week’s minisode, True Crime South Africa discusses the case, the offender’s trial and the possibilities of a relationship with his own child. We also discuss the most difficult of all murder cases to prove beyond a reasonable doubt – the “no body” murder charge and the South African convictions that are building a precedent for these cases. To round up, we focus on the role of private investigators in South African criminal investigations and how they contributed to the arrests in the cases of Meghan Cremer and Uyinene Mrwetyana. Community Intervention Centre (24-hour Trauma helpline: 082 821 3447) Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In 1949, 18-year-old Jacoba Schroeder had been drawn to the bright lights of Johannesburg in the hopes that she could pull herself out of poverty and cast aside the shackles of her social class. Sadly, Jacoba was looking for a knight in shining armour in the wrong place and she instead found herself in a situation beyond her control. The discovery of her body in Birdhaven Plantation sparked an investigation and trial which would inhabit the imaginations of the world for a year and its unbelievable outcome would haunt South Africa for decades to come. Community Intervention Centre (24-hour Trauma helpline: 082 821 3447); Sources: http://www.rahlaxenopoulos.co.za/home https://eensgesind.com/category/doodloopspore/ https://bygonesandbyways.blogspot.com/ http://www.africacrime-mystery.co.za/books/fsac/index.html Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In this week’s True Crime South Africa Spotlight minisode we discuss the scourge of gender-based violence and do a deep dive into some interesting information that emerged during the pre-sentencing hearing of the last three Electus per Deus members. Zak Valentine, Cecilia Steyn and Marcel Steyn were found guilty of a range of charges emanating from a murder, robbery and fraud spree between 2012 and 2016 in which 11 people lost their lives. We covered the so-called Krugersdorp Killers in Episode 4 of True Crime South Africa. The TCSA: Spotlight minisode series covers true crime cases which are currently in the media and provides updates on cases we have covered in our full episodes. Community Intervention Centre (24-hour Trauma helpline: 082 821 3447) Email the show: [email protected] Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

On the 22nd of September 2013 the badly decomposed body of a man was found in the boot of a car at Monte Casino in Fourways, South Africa. The investigation that followed would take police into the seedy underworld of sex work, drugs, fraud and trust betrayed. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/330149601029933/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrueCrimeSA1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimesouthafrica/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3X462NMcwhzpaW3qAdqpbF Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/true-crime-south-africa/id1469703618 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=431060&refid=stpr YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQt4kezVwqYH3wHSFfhv9rw?view_as=subscriber Community Intervention Centre (24-hour Trauma helpline: 082 821 3447) Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

The TCSA:Spotlight minisodes cover true crime cases that are in the South African media right now and updates on previous episodes. This week we have updates on the Krugersdorp Killers case, a statement from the One Strong Voice Foundation on the Amahle Thabethe case and a discussion on the tragic murder of Meghan Cremer. Amazon Affiliate Link to purchase Zephany: Two Mothers, One Daughter: https://amzn.to/2HgHRKY Community Intervention Centre (24-hour Trauma helpline: 082 821 3447) One Strong Voice Foundation FB Page https://www.facebook.com/1strongvoice/ Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In our new Spotlight series we will cover cases that are in the media at the moment. Each mini-sode will include short updates and discussions on recent cases and updates on cases we’ve covered before. This week in TCSA Spotlight, South African serial killers, organ theft and missing teachers in Vietnam. Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

On the 6th of April 2019, 8-year-old Amahle Thabethe assisted a man with directions to a shop. She has never been seen again. Where is Amahle and did a serial rapist on the run have something to do with her disappearance? Missing person advocacy agencies in South Africa: http://missingchildren.org.za/ https://www.pinkladies.org.za/ Mfundo Ndala’s YouTube video on Amahle MISSING CHILD: Amahle Thabethe Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

In Krugersdorp, South Africa 11 people were viciously murdered between 2012 and 2016 by a religious group calling themselves Electus Per Deus (Chosen by God). Their arrests sparked an investigation into one of the strangest cases in South African history which would ultimately reveal the depths of human depravity. (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) Visit our website for Show notes, photos and more at https://truecrimesouthafrica.com/ Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest @truecrimesouthafrica & Twitter @TCSApod Pinterest · YouTube · Support the show on PayPal · Support the show on Patreon · Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

South Africa has been haunted by the Station Strangler serial killer case since his first murder in 1986. A suspect was caught and jailed for one of the crimes but is he the true perpetrator or does he still move among us to this day? Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

Marie Ostbo, a Norwegian student, was 21 years old when she disappeared while on holiday in South Africa. Marie has now been missing for more than a year and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance seem to get murkier every day. This is Marie’s story. Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn

I chose Charmaine's story to cover first because I hadn't heard about the case before I saw it on a short documentary on television. I was surprised as I tend to follow cases like these quite voraciously but then I realised that Charmaine's murder took place just a month before Oscar Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013. Even non-true crime junkies know how that case exploded all over the media so Charmaine was pushed aside, her story relegated to third-page news, while South Africa took in every salacious detail of the Oscar trial. Charmaine's story is, therefore, a perfect example of the type of case I want to cover here on True Crime South Africa. She may not have been famous or a model or dating a superstar athlete, but Charmaine deserved the same support from the public as Reeva did for they were both taken far too soon, and neither deserved the horrendous endings they got. This is Charmaine's story. Instagram · Pinterest · Facebook · YouTube · Twitter · LinkedIn