TimesLIVE Podcasts True Crime South Africa

True Crime South Africa

True Crime South Africa is the first victim-focused true-crime podcast in the country.

Host, Nicole Engelbrecht, researches each case herself using media coverage, trial footage, social media sources and often by talking to some of the individuals involved. Using her skills as a creative writer and her passion for true crime, she crafts each script to ensure that listeners are given a deep dive into the case mechanics as well as an understanding of the victims as human beings.

The podcast covers both solved and unsolved South African true crime cases. The unsolved cases are often cold cases which can benefit from awareness being brought to them. This concept has been used in the US for many years and to great success. The listenership formed around true crime podcasts becomes a community that advocates for victims and resolution for families. South African victims now have their own voice too.

True Crime South Africa publishes weekly, alternating between full-length case episodes and shorter minisodes which discuss true crime cases that are currently in the media. The podcast launched on the 22nd of June 2019 and is making waves in the South African podcast community. On the True Crime South Africa social media pages, South African true crime fans finally have a place to call home where they can express their views on cases and discuss the details with like-minded people.

True Crime South Africa is published in conjunction with Arena Holdings, publishers of TimesLIVE, BusinessLIVE, and SowetanLIVE. 

Keywords: crime, true crime, murder, abduction, South Africa, police, law and order
Weekly English Explicit South Africa True Crime · News Narrated by Scott Peter Smith
344 Episodes
180 – 200

Episode 78 - The Murders of Anisha & Joey Van Niekerk

When Anisha and Joey van Niekerk went missing on the 11th of December 2017, their families immediately suspected foul play. What they could not know, is that their loved ones had fallen victim to a man whose greed knew no bounds, and he'd killed before (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support…
22 Apr 2022 1 hr 07 min

Prison By Numbers: Understanding Prison Gangs with Dr. Liza Grobler

Mystery and fear have always surrounded prison gangs, especially the infamous Numbers gangs. In today's episode we strip away the veil and reveal the truth behind prison gangs in South Africa with the help of criminologist, Dr. Liza Grobler (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa) (Support…
15 Apr 2022 1 hr 25 min

Episode 77 - The Great Trust Bank Robbery

In 1971, one of the biggest bank robberies in South African history took place in Commissioner Street, JHB. Police were convinced it was the work of a gang of sophisticated thieves. The truth was quite different. (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa) (Support the show on…
3 Apr 2022 32 min

Minisode: Here's Your Outrage - The Murder of Dora & Rorisang Matseme

In July 2019, mother and son, Dora and Rorisang Matseme were brutally murdered in their home in The Orchards, Pretoria. Almost four years later , four suspects stand trial for their murders, and a defense attorney makes a heartless claim about the impact of the crime (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447)…
25 Mar 2022 21 min

Episode 76 - The Murder of Jayde Inggs

On the 21st of April 2015, Jayde Inggs disappeared while waiting for a ride to work. When her body was discovered the next day, the investigation would soon reveal a dark web of deceit and facades that had ended in the ultimate betrayal (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show…
19 Mar 2022 1 hr 36 min

Interview: Ronel Koekemoer Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust

Rape and sexual violence is a huge issue in South Africa. Ronel Koekemoer is the counselling coordinator for Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust and in this interview we discuss some really important issues around consent, sexual violence within relationships, and many others (Rape Crisis: https://rapecrisis.org.za/) (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support…
11 Mar 2022 1 hr 03 min

Episode 75 - The Murder of Poppie van der Merwe

On the 25th of October 2017, a paramedic spotted a man running toward him in the parking lot of Brits Provincial Hospital. In his arms was the limp body of a young girl. Her name was Poppie van der Merwe and how she came to be deceased in her stepfather's…
4 Mar 2022 46 min

Episode 74 - The Murder of Valencia Behrens

On the 6th of January 2012, Valencia Behrens was 9 months pregnant when she went to visit a neighbour and never returned. Her baby would be taken to a clinic nearby - the sole survivor of a murderous mystery (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa) (Support…
25 Feb 2022 41 min

Spotlight Minisode His Name Is Jerobiojin: The Ethics of True Crime

A 13-year-old boy is murdered in a small Western Cape town and South Africa loses its mind, but not for the reasons we'd expect. In this minisode we delve into the ethics of true crime and what we don't know that we don't know (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the…
20 Feb 2022 20 min

Episode 73 - The Capital Hill Murders

In 1998 a prisoner was released from jail after serving just 3 years for a violent rape. By 1999, at least 7 people had lost their lives in Capital Hill, Pretoria (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa) (Support the show on PayPal https://www.paypal.me/truecrimesa) Support the Show…
11 Feb 2022 31 min

Episode 72 - The Murder of Santa Pretorius

In 2001, the South African public was horrified by the news that two teenagers, dubbed Adam and Eve, had been arrested for the vicious murder of a woman. The entire truth of the matter, though, would have parents sleeping with one eye open (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show…
4 Feb 2022 35 min

Episode 71 - The Murder of Ralf Krebs

On the night of the 21st of October 1987, police received a panicked call from the neighbour of the Krebs family. A gun shot had gone off and a man was dead. What would emerge from this case would be a shocking tale of sex, abuse, and the power of…
28 Jan 2022 37 min

Episode 70 Serial Offender: Ananias Mathe

Between 1999 and 2016 the strange legend of a Houdini-like prisoner haunted South Africa. Was Ananias Mathe really the highly-skilled escape artist he was painted as, though, or was there far more to his ability to get out of jail? (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa)…
21 Jan 2022 47 min

Episode 69 - The Serial Crimes of Richard Nyauza

In 2002 the bodies of five women were found in a quarry. Four years later when more started to be found, South Africa's IPU realized that their killer was back. (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa) (Support the show on PayPal https://www.paypal.me/truecrimesa) Support the Show on…
14 Jan 2022 1 hr 06 min

Episode 68 - Finding Baby Micaela

When a couple delivered their first child on the 3rd of May 1994, they could have no idea that within hours a nightmare would begin that would last 22 months. A woman had stolen their baby and then seemingly disappeared into thin air. (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show…
7 Jan 2022 1 hr 25 min

Spotlight Minisode 2021 Wrap & Bloopers

As we bid farewell to 2021, I've put together a wrap of the year in true crime in SA as well as a blooper reel of my recording mishaps for the year (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa) (Support the show on PayPal https://www.paypal.me/truecrimesa) Support the…
30 Dec 2021 39 min

Episode 67 - The Murder of Leslie Brockbanks Van Zyl

Leslie van Zyl booked into the Protea Hotel in George on the 28th of August 2000. She did not leave alive. In the years that followed her family would push for justice, but the "do not disturb" sign Leslie's killer hung on the hotel room door, seemed to apply to…
17 Dec 2021 1 hr 01 min

Episode 66 - The Limpopo Serial Killer

In 1991, Mukosi Freddy Mulaudzi was handed down two life sentences for murder. This should have been the end of Mulaudzi's murderous rampage, but it wasn't. For the residents of Limpopo, it was just the beginning of their nightmare (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesa) (Support…
10 Dec 2021 26 min

Episode 65 - The Serial Crimes of Charmaine Phillips & Pieter Grundlingh

In 1983, a Bonnie and Clyde-like scenario played out in South Africa that would end in the deaths of four innocent people and the death sentence of one of the perpetrators. The surviving perpetrator, a 19-year-old girl, remained the subject of many answered questions (24-hr trauma helpline 082-821-3447) (Support the…
5 Dec 2021 47 min

Interview with Vanessa Lynch - DNA For Africa

In this episode I interview Vanessa Lynch, DNA Crusader, and representative for DNA for Africa. Vanessa's journey into DNA advocacy started with a devastating loss and her refusal to accept the status quo. She has since been instrumental in the passing of several vital pieces of DNA legislation in South…
25 Nov 2021 1 hr 05 min
180 – 200