Killers: The most notorious South African criminals

Killers: The most notorious South African criminalsSouthern Africa has some of the most notorious serial killers in the world. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Here are some of SA's most notorious.

by Alex Coyne

23-10-2023 19:16

in Culture

Showmax releases Boetie Boer: Inside The Mind of A Monster' trailer. Images: supplied.

Southern Africa has some of the most notorious serial killers in the world. But while Hannibal Lecter might get more recognition, have you ever heard about Elifasi Msomi or Pierre Basson? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction could ever hope to be.

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Here are some of the most known South African criminals from the past.

Pierre Basson: The Insurance Killer Pierre Basson was born in Cape Town, and gets the title of South Africa's first documented serial killer.

His spree of terror lasted between 1903 and 1906, when he was arrested and hanged for his crimes. According to True Crime South Africa., he killed several people and then buried them in the garden.

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As an insurance agent, his motive was collection on his victims' insurance money.

He is sometimes called the insurance killer for his crimes.

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Daisy de Melker: The dodgy tea lady Daisy de Melker was a killer South African nurse who is most famous for her use of poison.

According to SA History, de Melker murdered two of her three husbands and collected money from their insurance policies. She also killed her son, but the reason for this murder still isn't clear today.

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When she was asked why she needed the poison, she claimed that she needed it to euthanise an animal. Unfortunately, she lied.

De Melker was given the death penalty for her crimes in 1932.

Elifasi: the axe killer Elifasi Msomi is known as South Africa's axe killer, thanks to his preferered method of attacking his victims. According to the Murderpedia website, his spree resulted in at least 15 people dead between Umkomaas and Umzimulu, Kwazulu-Natal.

The spree happened over an estimated two-year period, back in the 1950s.

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Elifasi was hanged in 1956 on 15 counts of killing with an axe.

Stewart Wilkin: Boetie Boer Stewart WIlkin was born in 1966, and earned the nickname of Boetie Boer for his crime spree. Most of his crimes were committed on the East Coast, where he is said to have lured and killed several young men and women.

Wilkin is often called unusual, for he had almost no set modus operandi or victim type preference.

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He is currently the topic of a documentary available on Showmax.

He was arrested in 1997 for his crimes, and still remains incarcerated.

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