Moses Sithole

Moses Sithole
Background information
Also known as	The South African Strangler The ABC Killer
Born	November 17, 1964 (1964-11-17) (age 47) Vosloorus, South Africa
Conviction	Murder Rape
Sentence	2,410 years imprisonment
Killings
Number of victims:	38+
Span of killings	1994–1995
Country	South Africa
Date apprehended	August 1995

Moses Sithole (November 17, 1964) is a South African serial killer who committed the "ABC Murders",^[1] so named because they began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg.

Early life

Sithole was born in Vosloorus, a poor neighbourhood of Boksburg, Gauteng in apartheid-era South Africa.^[2] When he was five, his father died, and his mother abandoned the family.^{[citation needed]} Sithole and his siblings spent the next three years in an orphanage, where he later said they were mistreated. He ran away back to his mother, who sent him back to the orphanage. He eventually moved in with his older brother.^{[citation needed]}

He began raping women in his twenties, claiming three victims before one finally testified against him. He was sent to prison, during which he himself was sexually assaulted by other prisoners. His murder spree began in 1994, shortly after his release.

Murders

Sithole would gain access to victims by pretending to be a businessman and offering them work,^[2] going so far as to invent a fictional charity organization. Once he had gained their trust, he would offer to walk them through a veld (an Afrikaans word literally meaning "field") to the "business headquarters" until they were out of sight and hearing range; he would then overpower, rape and strangle them. By 1995, he had claimed over 30 victims, igniting a nationwide panic.^[2] In some cases, he would call the victim's family and taunt them.^[3]

Capture

In August 1995, Sithole was identified as having been seen with one of the victims; police soon discovered details of his fake business and previous rape conviction. Sithole panicked and he went on the run. He called journalist Tamsen de Beer and identified himself as the killer.^{[citation needed]} At the third call he gave de Beer a number to call back. The police rushed to the pay phone he was calling from, but they were too late.^{[citation needed]} Shortly after that Sithole contacted his brother-in-law, who promised to help him get a gun and arranged a meeting. The brother-in-law notified the police, but Sithole sensed a trap at the meeting spot and ran. Police shot him twice when he charged them with an axe, wounding him before taking him into custody.^[4] He eventually confessed to the murders.^{[citation needed]}

Trial and imprisonment

On December 5, 1997, Sithole was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment for each of the 38 murders, 12 years imprisonment for each of the 40 rapes, and five years imprisonment for each of the six robberies. Since his sentences run consecutively, the total effective sentence is thus one of 2,410 years. Justice David Carstairs ordered that Sithole would be required to serve at least 930 years before being eligible for parole (in around 2927). He was incarcerated in C-Max, the maximum security section of Pretoria Central Prison; upon his arrival at the prison, it was found that he had contracted the HIV virus. ^[5]

Documentary

• Moses Sithole: The South African Strangler at the Internet Movie Database.

See also

• Elias Xitavhudzi (serial killer in Atteridgeville)

References

1. ^ Kendal, Rebekah (03 May 2007). "Worst criminals of SA". iafrica.com. http://news.iafrica.com/features/827627.htm. Retrieved 3 January 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Serial killer who gripped the nation^{[dead link]}
3. ^ A&E Biography - Moses Sithole
4. ^ "Serial killer suspect arrested". St. Petersburg Times: p. 8A. Oct 20, 1995. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/21346653.html?dids=21346653:21346653&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+20%2C+1995&author=&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=Serial+killer+suspect+arrested&pqatl=google. Retrieved 3 January 2011. 
5. ^ "South African Strangler: Moses Sithole". Notorious. The Biography Channel.

• Newton, Michael (2000). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. New York: Checkmark Books. p. 207. ISBN 0816039798. 
• Ströhm, Martin. "Graveyard". Crime Library. http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/moses_sithole/index.html. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
• von Nekerk, Philip (2000-10). "A Time to Kill". Maxim (maximonline.com). http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=448. ^{[dead link]}

Persondata
Name	Sithole, Moses
Alternative names
Short description	Serial killer
Date of birth	November 17, 1964
Place of birth	Vosloorus, Gauteng, South Africa
Date of death
Place of death