Serial Killers

S01E18: Moses Sithole: The South African Strangler

Moses Sithole (born November 17, 1964) was a South African serial killer who committed the "ABC Murders", so named because they began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg. Sithole was born in Vosloorus, a poor neighborhood of Boksburg in apartheid-era South Africa, the fourth of six children. His father, Simon Sithole died when Moses was five years old, and his mother became an alcoholic. Moses' mother, Sophie Tunghuweera, was a violent alcoholic who placed all of her children in an orphanage. Sithole claimed to have been abused in foster care, and he eventually returned to his mother, who placed him back in foster care. He ran away once again and stayed with his older brother. He began as a serial rapist during late adolescence, claiming three victims before his arrest in 1984. One of his victims identified Sithole as her rapist, and testified against him during his trial. He was imprisoned for nine years, during which he himself was sexually abused by fellow prisoners. He was released from prison in early 1994. Sithole would gain access to victims by pretending to be a businessman and offering them work, going so far as to invent an apocraphyl charity organization. After gaining enough of their trust, he would rape and strangle his victims and would leave their bodies in velds. By early 1995, he had claimed over 30 victims, igniting a nationwide panic. 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. Panicked, he went on the run. He called journalist Tamsen DeBeer and identified himself as the killer. At the third call he gave DeBeer a number to call back. The police rushed to the pay phone he was calling from, but they were too late. Shortly after that Sithole contacted his brother-in-law, who promised him 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. He eventually confessed to the murders. On December 5, 1997 Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 years for the murders of 37 women and one child committed between 1994 and 1995, along with 40 rapes and various lesser offenses. These offenses sum to 12 years for each of the 40 rapes, 50 years for each of the 38 murders, and another five years for each of the six robberies. His sentences did not run concurrently. Sithole will not be eligible for parole before 2927. He is currently incarcerated in C-Max, the maximum security section of Pretoria Central Prison. He is believed to have suffered severe sexual abuse by other prisoners, and had contracted AIDS in 2000.