Moses Sithole

Moses Sithole
Born	(1964-11-17) 17 November 1964 Vosloorus, Sooth Africae
Ither names	The Sooth African Strangler The ABC Killer
Criminal penalty	2,410 years impreesonment
Conviction(s)	Murther Rape
Killins
Victims	38+
Span o killins	1994–1995
Kintra	Sooth Africae
Date apprehendit	August 1995

Moses Sithole (born 17 November 1964) is a Sooth African serial killer who committit the "ABC Murthers", sae namit acause thay began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg an feenished in Cleveland, a suburb o Johannesburg.

Early life

Sithole wis born in Vosloorus, a poor neebourheid o Boksburg, Gauteng in apartheid-era Sooth Africae. When he wis five, his faither dee'd, an his mither abandoned the faimily. Sithole an his siblins spent the next three years in an orphanage, whare he later said thay wur mistreatit. Bi his awn accoont, he wis arrestit for rape in his teens an spent seiven years in preeson. He later blamed his stay in preeson for turnin him intae a murtherer. He explained his creemes bi sayin that the weemen he murthert aw remindit him o the weemen who haed falsely accused him o rape mony years afore.

Murthers

Sithole wad gain access tae victims bi pretendin tae be a businessman an afferin them wirk, goin sae far as tae invent a fictional charity organisation. Ance he haed gained thair trust, he wad affer tae walk them throu a veld (an Afrikaans wird literally meanin "field") tae the "business heidquairters" till thay wur oot o sicht an hearin range; he wad then owerpouer, rape an strangle them. Bi 1995, he haed claimit ower 30 victims, ignitin a naitionwide panic. In some cases, he wad caw the victim's faimily an taunt them.

Captur

In August 1995, Sithole wis identifee'd as haein been seen wi ane o the victims; polis suin discovered details o his fake business an previous rape conviction. Sithole panickit an he went on the run. He cried jurnalist Tamsen de Beer an identifee'd hissel as the killer. At the third caw he gae de Beer a nummer tae caw back. The polis rushed tae the pey phone he wis cawin frae, but thay wur too late. Shortly efter that Sithole contactit his brither-in-law, who promised tae help him get a gun an arrangit a meetin. The brither-in-law notifee'd the polis, but Sithole sensed a trap at the meetin spot an ran. Polis shot him twice when he chairgit them wi an axe, woondin him afore takkin him intae custody. He eventually confessed tae the murthers.

Trial an impreesonment

On 5 December 1997, Sithole wis sentencit tae 50 years impreesonment for each o the 38 murthers, 12 years impreesonment for each o the 40 rapes, an five years impreesonment for each o the sax robberies. Syne his sentences run consecutively, the tot effective sentence is ane o 2,410 years. Juistice David Carstairs ordered that Sithole wad be required tae serve at least 930 years afore bein eligible for parole. He wis incarceratit in C-Max, the maximum security section o Pretoria Central Prison; upon his arrival at the preeson, it wis foond that he haed contractit the HIV virus.

Documentary

• Moses Sithole: The South African Strangler on IMDb.

See an aw

• Elias Xitavhudzi (serial killer in Atteridgeville)

References

• Newton, Michael (2000). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. New York: Checkmark Books. p. 207. ISBN 0-8160-3979-8.
• Ströhm, Martin. "Graveyard". Crime Library. Archived frae the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
• von Nekerk, Philip (2000-10). "A Time to Kill". Maxim. maximonline.com. Archived frae the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2012-10-28.