Moses Sithole
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Moses Shithole (November 17, 1964 ) is 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.
Early life
Sithole was born in Vosloorus, a poor neighbourhood of Boksburg in Apartheid-era South Africa. When he was five, 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. He ran away back to his mother, who sent him back to the orphanage. He eventually moved in with his older brother.
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, 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.
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. Panicked, he went on the run. He called journalist Tamsen de Beer, identified himself as the killer, and arranged a meeting to tell his story. De Beer notified the police, but Sithole sensed a trap at the meeting spot and ran. Police shot him twice when he charged them with a axe, wounding him before taking him into custody. He eventually confessed to the murders.
Trial and imprisonment
On December 5, 1997, Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 years for the murders of 38 people committed between 1994 and 1995, along with 40 rapes and various lesser offenses. That adds up 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 do not run concurrently. There will be no possibility of parole for at least 930 years.
He is incarcerated in C-Max, the maximum security section of Pretoria Central Prison. He was reported in 2000 to have AIDS.[citation needed]
See also
References
- The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Michael Newton, p207 ISBN 0-8160-3979-8
- A Time to Kill By Philip von Nekerk Maxim, Oct. 2000
- Graveyard By Martin Ströhm - Crime Library