Moses sithole biography

Board a plane with me and fly to one of the most beautiful countries in the world, forever bloodstained by the murders of at least 38 women by the South African Strangler, or, as I call him, the Black Ted Bundy. How did the injustice and brutality of apartheid contribute to a child growing up to shed the skin of his humanity and becoming a monster?

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Credits:

Research, writing, narration and audio arrangement by Prash

“This is For Black Men & Women Of South Africa” poem written by Prash

Character Voices: Nicholas Mannie, Prash and Ian

Special Thanks to Nicole from True Crime South Africa. You can check out her amazing podcast here:

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Music:

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Sources:

https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/moses-sithole

https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/sithole-moses.htm

https://truecrimesouthafrica.com/blog-episode-9-the-abc-killer/

True Crime Magazine By Detective Monthly (hard copy)

(1964-)

Who Is Moses Sithole?

Moses Sithole is considered one of South Africa's worst serial killers. In 1997, Sithole was found guilty of 38 murders and 40 rapes. A significant number of Sithole's victims were never identified.

Early Life

Sithole, one of five children, was born in Vosloorus, near Boksburg in the Transvaal Province of apartheid (now Gauteng), South Africa, on November 17, 1964, to Simon and Sophie Sithole. His childhood of poverty was exacerbated after his father died and his mother, unable to support the children, abandoned them at a local police station. They were placed in an orphanage in Kwazulu Natal, but systematic abuse provoked the teenage Sithole to run away after three years, seeking refuge first with his older brother Patrick before going to work in the Johannesburg gold mines.

Sithole was sexually precocious from an early age, but his relationships were short-lived. Some have surmised that his mother’s abandonment of her children might have played a role in his aggressive attitudes toward women. He also reportedly told some of his rape victims about his own bad experiences at the hands of a previous girlfriend.

Sithole has been described as a handsome and charming man, and most of his victims were enticed to their assaults, and often deaths, in broad daylight, with promises of employment opportunities that would never materialize. His social ease and intelligent demeanor made the string of brutal assaults even more chilling, and he was eventually charged with 38 murders and 40 rapes. A significant number of Sithole’s victims were never identified.

Crimes

It is not known when Sithole raped his first victim, but his first recorded incidence of rape occurred in September 1987, involving 29-year-old Patrica Khumalo, who testified at his 1996 trial. Three other known rape victims came forward, including Buyiswa Doris Swakamisa, who was attacked in February 1989. She made a police report at the time that resulted

Like practically all serial killers, Moses Sitholes formative years were not ideal. He was born in 1964. His father, Simon Tangawira Sithole, his mother, Sophie, and his five siblings lived in Vosloorus, a historically black area just south of Germiston and Boksburg. While Moses was still a child, his father died and his mother was soon unable to manage financially. When they had to leave their home, Sophie had nowhere to take the children, and consequently decided to leave them at a police station. She made them understand in no uncertain terms that they were not to tell the police officers that she was her mother. The children were placed in an orphanage in Benoni, but the boys were soon transferred to the . Sithole claimed that they were mistreated and he ran away three years later.

Thus, again we find the absent father figure identified by Robert Ressler as a frequent characteristic in the serial killers childhood. In addition, the rejection by his mother undoubtedly left an indelible impression on the young Moses, and probably initiated his resentment towards and hatred of women. What is interesting, however, is that his brother Patrick did not choose such a destructive path. Perhaps Patricks increased age played some role, but this still reminds us that environmental conditions only explain a part of the picture.

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There are many fascinating parallels between the lives and crimes of Moses Sithole and American serial killer Ted Bundy. Bundy, of course, did not grow up in ideal circumstances either. Being conceived illegitimately, his mother, Louise Cowell, went to a home for unwed mothers, leaving her son there for two months after his birth to decide what to do. In the end, she came and took him home, where he was raised somewhat transparently as if he were his grandparents adopted son. When Bundy was 5, his mother moved away and later married John Culpepper Bundy. Ted Bundy never really knew where he belonged, and the same is true of Mose

South African serial killer (born 1964)

Moses Sithole (born 17 November 1964) is a South African serial killer and rapist who committed the ABC Murders. It is believed that he is so named because they began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg. However, many other sources state that the cities were not in that order, rather beginning in Cleveland, continuing in Boksburg and finishing in Atteridgeville. This has not been denied nor confirmed.

Sithole murdered at least 37 women and one toddler between 16 July 1994 and 6 November 1995. Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 years imprisonment and is currently incarcerated in Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.

Early life

Moses Sithole was born on 17 November 1964 in Vosloorus, a township near Boksburg, Transvaal Province (now Gauteng). When he was five years old, his father died and his mother abandoned the family. Sithole and his siblings spent the next three years in an orphanage, where he later said they were mistreated. By his own account, Sithole was arrested for rape in his teens and spent seven years in prison. He later blamed his imprisonment for turning him into a murderer. He explained his crimes by saying that the women he murdered all reminded him of the women who had falsely accused him of rape years before.

Murders

Sithole appeared to be a mild-mannered individual to those around him. At the time of his crimes, he was managing a shell organisation, Youth Against Human Abuse, ostensibly devoted to the eradication of child abuse. After committing murders in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, Sithole moved his focus to Boksburg and eventually to Cleveland. By 1995, he had claimed over thirty victims, sparking nationwide panic. In some cases, he would later phone the victims' families for no other apparent reason than to taunt them. At one poin