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True

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crime South Africa is published in

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0:34

Welcome

0:34

to True Crime South Africa. I'm

0:37

Nicole Engelbrecht, and you're listening

0:39

to a spotlight minisoad. in which

0:41

I discuss cases that are currently

0:43

in the media and related topics.

0:45

Before

0:46

we get into today's episode, I'd

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like to thank our new Patreon supporters for

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the week. The huge thank you goes

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out to Jody Acorn,

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Carissa. and

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for your support

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1:01

everyone. Your support really does

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make a huge difference. If you'd

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notes. As you all

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know by now, my first book summarize

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sword murder is art in book

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shops. It's also available

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for purchase on Amazon, and the audiobook

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will be out soon too. If

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you're based in Pretoria, I'm going

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to be at exclusive books,

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Brooklyn Mall, on the nineteenth of November

1:29

at four PM. I'll be in

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conversation with doctor Gerard Labuszakni

1:34

and will be discussing the Samurai sword

1:36

murder and all things true crime.

1:39

I'd love to see you there and it's on

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dot zed a to reserve

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your seats. The

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following episode may contain sensitive

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material, including descriptions of violence,

1:59

sexual assault, or graphic descriptions

2:01

of injuries to victims. If

2:04

you feel you may be triggered by such material,

2:06

please consider this before accessing our

2:08

content. To access Trauma

2:10

Counseling or Services please see

2:12

the information on our show

2:14

notes.

2:15

There have definitely been a few interesting

2:18

strange and tragic cases in

2:20

the media recently and I've selected

2:23

a few to chat about today. The

2:25

first case I want to talk about, I've

2:28

mentioned in a few episodes

2:29

before. In

2:30

fact, this offender has

2:33

kind of been their recurring theme

2:35

throughout the years in the podcast. And

2:38

thankfully, we won't have to talk

2:40

about him anymore until

2:42

possibly I cover his crimes in a full

2:44

episode one day. The

2:47

first time I mentioned the Saffinder was

2:49

in episode

2:49

five,

2:51

the disappearance of a Marquis de Vets.

2:54

Amar Claire was nine years old

2:56

when she was abducted near her home

2:58

in Sakhani in twenty nineteen.

3:01

Amakesh has still not been found.

3:04

But the offending question was mentioned

3:07

during that episode. When

3:10

first went missing, her friends were

3:12

shown an identification of a serial

3:14

rapist who'd been terrorizing the

3:16

Cordillerini area. For

3:19

a long at least in the public

3:21

opinion, the man was believed

3:23

to have been linked to a marketer's disappearance.

3:26

but the facts didn't really line

3:28

up. The offender

3:31

did target girls as young as

3:33

nine. but his MO

3:35

didn't match up with the way a

3:37

month later disappeared. The

3:39

offender was also not known to his

3:42

victims in a way that made

3:44

them permanently disappear.

3:49

For another two years, the offenders'

3:51

identity kits continued to be

3:53

circulated and he continued

3:56

to commit crimes. Then

3:59

in March twenty

3:59

twenty one, pictures

4:02

were circulated of a man who had been

4:04

arrested and was believed to

4:06

be the Corollini rapist. At

4:09

the time, the SAPS warned

4:11

people not to spread the picture on

4:13

social media as the offender

4:15

had not appeared in court. I

4:18

spoke about that on the podcast too,

4:21

and the dangers of using social

4:23

media to essentially run

4:25

a trial by public opinion. It

4:28

soon emerged, the police

4:30

did believe the offender they'd arrested

4:32

that night was the a corollary

4:34

serial offender. It

4:37

also penalized that the

4:39

man had attempted to flee when police

4:41

had tried to arrest him and

4:43

police had been forced to shoot him

4:45

to detain him. He was transported

4:48

to hospital, but he would end up having

4:50

his leg amputates as a result

4:52

of that shooting. After

4:55

his arrest and first court appearance,

4:58

this suspect was identified as

5:00

coronavirus. The

5:03

thirty two year old man's DNA was

5:05

taken and linked to sixty

5:07

of the cases against him. Similar

5:10

fact evidence and witness testimony

5:13

linked him to another thirty rapes.

5:16

And Picati would eventually admit

5:18

to having raped ninety two

5:21

victims. in an almost

5:23

decade long series that

5:25

had spanned from twenty twelve

5:27

to his arrest in twenty

5:29

twenty one. Pakati

5:31

was initially facing two hundred

5:34

and three charges, but prosecutors

5:36

would agree to drop fifty five

5:38

of the more minor charges when

5:40

the man agreed to plead guilty

5:43

to all the rape and related

5:45

charges. His sentencing

5:48

hearing has been scheduled for the eighth of

5:50

December, but it seems clear

5:52

that he will receive multiple life

5:55

sentences for his crimes. To

5:58

my knowledge, Bacati

5:59

is South Africa's most prolific

6:02

serial rapist with the longest

6:05

period of activity, at

6:07

least the one that we know of.

6:10

And I think his arrest needs to

6:12

start a process of questioning how

6:15

this man got away with this for

6:17

so long. Ninety

6:19

two victims. Please

6:22

take a moment to picture how

6:24

many women and children that

6:26

is. And he was

6:28

also found guilty of having

6:30

forced male teenagers and children

6:33

to assault their friends and family members.

6:37

He lived in the same area he

6:39

offended in for almost a decade.

6:42

How?

6:42

How

6:43

did he get away with us? I'll

6:46

keep an eye on this for sentencing and

6:49

hopefully cover it in a full episode

6:51

with more information on exactly

6:54

how he managed to stay active for

6:56

so long in the future.

7:00

The next case I wanted to discuss

7:03

actually did not happen in South

7:05

Africa, but the alleged offender

7:07

is South African. At

7:10

six forty five AM on the third

7:12

of November, police in

7:14

Uganda, Queensland, Australia,

7:17

recalled to the home of Raynald

7:19

Bosch and Noomi Condax.

7:23

The young couple's seven month old

7:25

son was not breathing. and

7:27

paramedics immediately recognized that

7:30

efforts to resuscitate the

7:32

tiny infant would be futile.

7:34

He was declared dead on the scene,

7:37

and paramedics immediately summoned

7:39

police. When

7:41

they arrived, They found city

7:43

three year old South African born

7:45

Raynald Bosch sitting on the

7:47

couch with his partner and

7:49

the mother of his son. German

7:52

born nomi conducts. The

7:55

couple were clasping one another's

7:57

hands and seemed to

7:59

be praying. their lips

8:01

moving in a whispered chant.

8:04

Investigators would later learn

8:06

that this is what the couple

8:08

had been doing after their

8:10

son had been seriously injured.

8:12

They

8:13

had prayed that he would recover.

8:17

this prayer session had continued

8:19

for at least a day because

8:21

the couple would later admit

8:24

that their son had been dead for more than twenty

8:26

four hours before they'd actually called

8:28

paramedics. while

8:31

it's not uncommon for paramedics to be

8:33

called to a scene where a young baby

8:35

has stopped breathing. For the

8:37

most part, it will be as a result of

8:40

terrible accidents, a fool,

8:42

choking,

8:43

or drowning. In

8:45

very small babies, it may

8:47

be as the result of sudden infant

8:50

death syndrome. Very

8:52

rarely, would paramedics

8:54

be faced with the situation they

8:56

found at the home

8:57

in YUGO. But

8:59

the

8:59

minute they saw the baby's body,

9:02

they

9:02

knew something terrible had

9:05

happened there.

9:05

While the

9:07

details of the injuries to the couple's

9:10

baby are perhaps

9:12

thankfully not in the public domain

9:14

at this point, Within

9:16

a few short hours of police

9:18

arriving, both Raynaud

9:20

Bosch and Noomi contacts

9:22

were charged with murder and

9:24

torture.

9:26

Several articles states, quote,

9:29

The

9:30

police alleged Bosch used an

9:32

unidentified instruments to

9:35

torture the infants for most of

9:37

his life from eleven

9:39

April until to November.

9:41

and quite

9:44

Seasoned police officers who attended

9:46

the scene prescribed it as

9:48

one of the worst they had seen in their

9:50

careers.

9:52

Bosch appears to have lived in Pretoria

9:54

until they immigrated to Australia.

9:57

A

9:57

woman who was in a relationship with

9:59

him until twenty nineteen told

10:02

journalists that her relationship

10:04

with the man was extremely

10:06

traumatizing to her. and that she had

10:08

to undergo therapy after

10:10

eventually breaking up with him. Although

10:13

the woman did not elaborate

10:15

on the type of trauma she'd endured during

10:17

the relationship. She

10:19

said that she would have been able to lay criminal

10:21

charges against him but

10:23

felt too afraid to do so when the

10:25

relationship ended. It's

10:28

unclear where the Bosch and convicts

10:30

were married or when they

10:32

met, but there is a

10:34

ten year age

10:35

difference between the two. While

10:38

Bosch was in Australia, he'd

10:40

worked as a care worker for disabled

10:42

children whose families were

10:44

unable to care for them. It's

10:47

also become apparent that

10:49

the religious beliefs of the pair

10:51

will form part of the investigation.

10:54

Although, how this

10:56

may have played into the crime is

10:58

not apparent

10:58

at this point. A

11:01

friend of the couple as well as the child's

11:04

grandfather have expressed

11:06

deep shock and sadness at the

11:08

child's death. and they go

11:10

find me has been started to pay for a

11:12

funeral for the child. I'll

11:14

definitely keep my eye on this one

11:16

too, despite it being in a

11:18

different country and keep you

11:20

updated.

11:23

Recently, a thirty one year

11:25

old woman was found guilty and

11:27

sentenced for

11:28

murdering her grandmother and committing

11:30

fraud after the woman's death.

11:33

On

11:33

the nineteenth of December twenty nineteen,

11:36

Rachel Shabalala reported her

11:38

grandmother, Nonsa, missing at

11:40

a police station in Sweta. A

11:43

missing person's investigation was

11:45

launched. And police soon

11:47

noticed that Nomsa's SASSA

11:49

pension and ATM cards

11:52

were being used at regular

11:54

intervals. The

11:55

transactions were tracked, and

11:57

the person using the cards

11:59

was

11:59

identified as Rachel

12:02

Chabalala, Namsa's granddaughter.

12:05

Rachel was arrested on suspicion of

12:07

being involved in her grandmother's

12:09

disappearance in September

12:11

twenty twenty. She

12:13

remained in custody while police

12:15

attempted to build a notoriously

12:18

difficult

12:18

to know body murder case

12:20

against her, and it seemed clear

12:22

to them that Nonsai was no longer

12:24

alive. At her

12:27

advanced age, and with her

12:29

fragile she'd been before her disappearance.

12:31

And considering she clearly did not

12:33

have access to her cards,

12:35

which gave her her only source of income,

12:38

police

12:38

were certain that she hadn't simply

12:41

left of her own accord. In

12:43

June twenty twenty one, though,

12:46

a breakthrough happened. When

12:48

a tenant who was cleaning out the house

12:50

that Rachel and her grandmother had

12:52

occupied, moved a large

12:54

steel dustbin in the yard

12:56

and

12:56

discovered what appeared to be

12:59

human remains. Police

13:02

were called and the remains were

13:04

confirmed by DNA to belong

13:06

to Namsa Shabalala. Upon

13:09

hearing that her grandmother's remains had

13:11

been found, Rachel

13:13

confessed that she had killed the

13:15

woman during an argument. Damage

13:17

was found on Nonsa's skull, but

13:20

it did

13:20

not appear to have been life ending.

13:23

And Rachel confirmed that

13:25

she had struck her grandmother on the head with

13:28

her caliber and then

13:30

strangled her to death. She

13:32

had then hidden the woman's remains underneath

13:35

the bend and set about

13:37

using her pension and other

13:39

income for herself until

13:41

she was arrested. Rachel

13:44

was convicted and sentenced to

13:46

life and prison. The

13:48

judge found no mitigating

13:50

circumstances in the case that

13:52

warrants her the reduced sentence.

13:55

and faults that Rachel could have

13:57

gotten her grandmother help after

13:59

striking her on the

13:59

head that

14:00

had instead decided to

14:03

strangle her and then hide her

14:05

remains and commit fraud.

14:07

The fact that the older

14:09

woman was frail and vulnerable

14:12

and relied on Rachel for

14:14

Kaye were all aggravating circumstances

14:16

the judge said. And they

14:18

found that the woman's murder was

14:20

passed be premeditated and for

14:22

financial gain.

14:25

The last case

14:27

I wanted to chat about in this week's

14:29

minisoad is one you'd expect

14:31

to see on on a Netflix special.

14:34

In nineteen ninety nine,

14:37

Robyn Smith was living in Boxburg

14:39

with his wife, Alice. when

14:41

he was sadly killed in a car

14:43

accident. The

14:45

grieving widow Ellis was

14:47

paid out one point seven million

14:49

rand from Robin's life

14:50

assurance by Old Mutual and

14:53

decided to move to Nizna to

14:55

start a fresh. Sad

14:57

story, right? Right.

14:59

Except

15:00

accept it

15:01

wasn't what it seemed on the surface.

15:05

This

15:05

month, acting on a tip-off they

15:07

had received in twenty twenty, hawks

15:11

officials descended on the home of Alice

15:13

Smith in Nizna.

15:15

there, they found

15:16

a man who was living under the name

15:18

Chris

15:18

Boshoff, the identity

15:21

of Ellis' deceased

15:23

father. Police

15:25

were able to identify that the

15:28

man's true identity

15:29

t was

15:30

Robin Smith. In

15:33

twenty twenty, Old

15:35

Mutual received a couple from an

15:37

unidentified source, letting

15:39

them know that in nineteen

15:41

ninety nine, they

15:42

had paid out a fraudulent claim

15:45

in the death of Robin Smith.

15:48

The man is alleged to affect his own

15:50

death in a car accident. And

15:53

then after being paid out the life

15:55

insurance, he and his

15:57

wife settled in NYZNA. where

15:59

they'd been

15:59

living for twenty

16:01

three years. The

16:03

couple were arrested and

16:05

charged with multiple counts of fraud,

16:07

as well as being in possession of unlicensed

16:10

firearms, which were found during the raid

16:12

on their home. They're being

16:14

transferred to Carting to

16:16

stand trial there for the fraud

16:18

charges.

16:21

Now, although this is already

16:23

a pretty interesting case, I

16:25

have questions.

16:27

So many questions. The

16:30

first was actually raised

16:33

by a friend of the show, zippathanson

16:35

on social media. In

16:38

South African law, murder,

16:40

rape, and treason charges

16:42

do not prescribe.

16:44

Meaning that no matter

16:45

when the crime was committed, a

16:48

person can be charged and

16:50

stand trial for a crime at

16:52

any point

16:52

as long as they're alive. But

16:55

those

16:55

are the only three crimes

16:58

that do not prescribe. Fraud

17:01

charges prescribed after

17:03

twenty years. Robin

17:05

Smith allegedly committed this

17:08

crime twenty three years ago.

17:11

So how is the national prosecuting

17:14

authority legally able to

17:16

charge him after the prescription

17:18

period has expired. For

17:20

the Hawks to have actioned

17:22

and arrest warrants, they

17:25

must, at some point, have

17:27

consulted the NPA to ensure they

17:29

have a case. So it's

17:30

going to be really interesting to see

17:33

exactly how this plays out in

17:35

court and how the NPA

17:37

is going to get around us.

17:39

The other interesting thing

17:41

is that this tip came into

17:44

Old Mutual in

17:44

twenty twenty, exactly

17:48

twenty years after the crime

17:50

was commensurate. coincidence? incident

17:53

Maybe.

17:53

But

17:54

as I've said before, if

17:56

there's anything I've learned during this

17:59

podcast,

17:59

It's that there are very

18:01

few true coincidences.

18:05

My

18:05

other questions relates to how

18:08

this crime was committed. How

18:10

was the day's fate?

18:12

Was there a body

18:13

in the car? And

18:15

if

18:15

so, whose body

18:17

was it? We haven't

18:19

heard about any murder charges.

18:22

So how exactly was Robin Smith's

18:24

declared dead? I would

18:27

be surprised if Old Mutual

18:29

had paid out without

18:32

a body And simply

18:33

on the basis of the accident

18:35

having been so bad, perhaps there

18:37

was a fire involved

18:39

that the body was claimed to have

18:42

been completely destroyed.

18:45

At this point, Police have

18:47

said that it's unknown whether any of their other

18:50

family members were involved or

18:52

had knowledge of Robin

18:54

being alive. So only

18:56

time will tell, and

18:58

I

18:58

can guarantee you, I will be keeping

19:00

a close eye on this

19:02

one. And

19:04

that's

19:04

is your spotlight minisoad for

19:06

the week. If you'd like to hear a

19:08

more victim focused true crime

19:11

crime scenes, please subscribe to True Crime

19:13

South Africa on the platform you're

19:15

using to listen right now. If

19:17

you're looking

19:17

for something still

19:18

related to real life stories,

19:21

but often with a more positive glance,

19:23

you can check out my new podcast series

19:25

I live

19:25

through this this. You can follow

19:27

both podcasts on social media.

19:30

We're

19:30

on Facebook, Twitter and

19:33

Instagram.

19:33

I'll be back next week with another

19:36

episode. Until

19:37

then, Thank you

19:39

for your support, and I'll chat to you soon.