True Crime South Africa
True Crime South Africa covers solved and unsolved South African true crime cases.
Episode 19 - The Murder of Marlene Mauer
On the 10th of February 2006, 22-year-old Marlene Mauer left home for her first day of work at a new job. She never came home. Her murderer would be sentenced to 17 years in jail but that wasn't the end of Marlene's story. In December 2019, Marlene's mother would receive…
Spotlight Minisode 10 - An Australian Tribute
Today's minisode covers an Australian case with a South African link. We dedicate this episode to the human and animal victims of Australia's wildfires. For more information about how you can help, visit (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/07/australia-fires-how-to-help-donate-victims-animals/2832145001/)
Episode 18 - The Modimolle Monster
When Ina Bonnette met Johan Kotze she thought she had found the man of her dreams. Those dreams would soon turn into a nightmare she could never escape from when the true Johan Kotze showed his face resulting in one of the most sadistic cases of domestic violence and murder…
Spotlight Minisode 9
In today's minisode we discuss two disturbing, recent "no body"murder convictions. There's an update from Episode 13 - The Samurai Killer and then we get a little more light-hearted with a round up of South Africa's dumbest criminals for the last decade. (Community Intervention Centre - 24-hour trauma line 082-821-3447)
Episode 17 - Daisy de Melker
In 1932 Daisy de Melker was executed after being found guilty of murdering her son. This crime just scratched the surface of what she had done, though. The specter of Daisy de Melker still hangs over South Africa, a century later, as the epitome of a cold-blooded killer. (Support the…
Episode 16 - The Murder of Leigh Matthews
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.
Episode 15 - The Wemmer Pan Serial Killer
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…
Episode 14 - The Springs House of Horrors
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,…
Spotlight Minisode 8 - The GBV Edition
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)
Episode 13 - The Samurai Killer
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…
TCSA Spotlight Minisode 7
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…
Episode 12: Unsolved: The River Strangler
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)
TCSA Spotlight 6
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)
Episode 11 - The Shoelace Killer
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…
TCSA Spotlight 5
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)
Episode 10 - The Unsolved Murder of Tracey Thompson
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…
Interview: My Pen Pal, The Serial Killer
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…
Episode 9 - The ABC Killer
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…
TCSA: Spotlight 4
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…
Episode 8: The Unsolved Murder of Jacoba Schroeder
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…