Profiler: True Crime Africa

Dr Candice Hansmeyer has spent her career speaking for the dead — first in South Africa’s chaotic mortuaries, now in Canada’s pristine labs. In this deeply human episode of Profiler Africa , she joins Paul Llewellyn and Prof Gerard Labuschagne to unpack the realities of modern forensic pathology. Together they explore: The stark contrast between South Africa’s crisis and Canada’s calm The emotiona...

People disappear every day — but what happens when someone is kidnapped for ransom? This week on Profiler Africa , forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne and host Paul Llewellyn go deep into the world of kidnap-for-ransom , joined by Vincent Swardt , a veteran crisis-response consultant who’s negotiated releases in DRC, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa . Vincent reveals what really happens behin...

Between 2017 and 2019, five women vanished in Masoyi , Mpumalanga. Their bodies were later found buried on the killer’s own property — a chilling signature of control and dominance. In this episode, Gerard Labuschagne and Paul Llewellyn are joined by Colonel (Ret.) Kirsten Clark , former SAPS Investigative Psychologist & Criminal Behaviour Specialist, to dissect one of South Africa’s most dist...

This week on Profiler Africa, Paul and Gerard Labuschagne unpack one of the strangest and most misunderstood areas in forensic psychology: autoerotic fatality . These are accidental deaths that occur during solo sexual activity when methods used to heighten arousal — like asphyxiation, electrocution, or body wrapping — end in tragedy. Misunderstood, often staged by families, and sometimes mistaken...

This week on Profiler Africa, Paul and Gerard Labuschagne unpack one of the strangest and most misunderstood areas in forensic psychology: autoerotic fatality . These are accidental deaths that occur during solo sexual activity when methods used to heighten arousal — like asphyxiation, electrocution, or body wrapping — end in tragedy. Misunderstood, often staged by families, and sometimes mistaken...

This week on Profiler Africa , Paul and Gerard Labuschagne are joined by Dr Nathan Brooks , a forensic psychologist and senior lecturer recognised internationally for his research on psychopathy and behavioural risk. Dr Brooks has worked with government, law enforcement, and the private sector on threat assessment, lone-actor violence, and personality disorders , and is known for cutting through m...

This week on Profiler Africa, South Africa's leading forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne unpacks one of Pretoria’s most disturbing serial murder cases — the case of Themba Vilakazi, known as the Railway Killer . Between July and November 2005, three males — including an 11-year-old schoolboy — were brutally murdered along Pretoria’s railway lines and near the zoo. Victims were stabbed in...

Gérard Labuschagne and Paul Vivare joined by world-renowned arson investigator Ed Nordskog to dissect the chilling case of Justin Caruso , a serial arsonist whose crimes spanned three US states. Caruso’s fires weren’t random. He staged them to look accidental, inserted himself into investigations, and sought recognition as a “hero.” One blaze killed a 74-year-old man in Mesa, Arizona; another near...

In January 2003, Cape Town was rocked by one of the most brutal mass murders in South African history. Inside a massage parlour called Sizzlers, ten men were bound, tortured, and executed. Nine died. One man — Quinton Taylor — miraculously survived. This was the Sizzlers Massacre : a crime of staggering cruelty, officially recognised as a hate crime against the queer community. The killers, Adam W...

This week on Profiler Africa , Paul Viv and Dr. Gerard Labuschagne sit down with Nicole Engelbrecht – South Africa’s leading true crime voice, creator of the chart-topping True Crime South Africa podcast, and author of multiple acclaimed books. In Part 1 of this exclusive two-part interview, Nicole opens up about leaving corporate life to build a victim-first media platform, her journey as an auth...

This week on Profiler Africa , forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne sits down with Peter Collins , a globally recognized operational forensic psychiatrist who’s spent over 30 years on the frontline of violent crime investigations. Collins isn’t a “profiler”—he’s a psychiatrist who’s shaped how police understand, manage, and investigate high-risk offenders. From hostage negotiations and threat...

This week, forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne takes us inside one of South Africa’s most disturbing — yet largely ignored — serial murder cases. Between 2007 and 2009, 16 women and a child were raped, strangled and dumped in the bushveld around Westonaria and Lenasia. Most victims were unidentified. Many were unemployed, vulnerable, and invisible to the public eye. But not to their killer —...

For years, Profiler Africa has warned that cracks were forming inside South Africa’s law enforcement system. This week, those cracks turned into a full-blown fracture. Explosive allegations by KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi — pointing to a criminal syndicate operating within the SAPS — have forced the President’s hand, sidelined the Police Minister, and plunged the country into chaos....

This week on Profiler Africa, South Africa's leading forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne takes us inside a shocking event that rocked an affluent Johannesburg suburb: the 2011 Rosebank Police Station shooting. More than just a lone disgruntled employee, this case exposes the dangerous cracks within law enforcement and the chilling reality of workplace violence. We delve into: The Perpetra...

This week on Profiler Africa , forensic psychologist Gérard Labuschagne uncovers the terrifying world of muti murders — killings where body parts are harvested for traditional medicine. These aren’t random acts of violence. They’re deliberate, driven by belief, greed, and an underground economy that thrives in the shadows. We dive into: What muti murder really means — and why it’s not just “ritual...

This week, Profiler Africa goes behind the scenes of South Africa’s most high-stakes standoffs with Dr Ernst Strydom — SAPS’ former National Coordinator of Hostage Negotiations. Host Paul Llewellyn and forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne dig into the psychology of crisis and negotiation, guided by the man who trained the nation’s negotiators and led SAPS through hijackings, bomb threats, and...

In this explosive episode, Paul and Gerard sit down with retired Colonel Tollie Vreugdenburg — former head of SAPS Counter-Terrorism — to expose the chilling truth behind one of the most dangerous domestic terror plots in South African history: the Boeremag. This white supremacist militia planned to bomb the country into civil war, assassinate Nelson Mandela, and launch a violent coup. But thanks...

This week on Profiler Africa , we go deep into one of the most brutal and misunderstood crime waves in South Africa — farm murders. Host Paul Llewellyn and forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne are joined by veteran detective Gawie “Sakkie” Louwrens, who’s investigated over 300 farm killings. Now retired from SAPS, Sakkie leads an independent rural crime unit taking on what the police can’t — o...

Profiler Africa | Episode Out Now Who’s really killing who in South Africa? In one of our most explosive episodes yet, Paul Llewellyn and forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne sit down with Dr Chris de Kock , former head of SAPS Crime Research, to pull the mask off one of South Africa’s most politicised crime topics: farm murders . Forget the hashtags, headlines, and hype. We’re cutting through...

Psychologist. Intelligence specialist. Co-author of Killer Stories . This week, Paul and Gerard sit down with Brin Hodgskiss for a heavyweight conversation on the dark art of criminal profiling — from Johannesburg to the UK. Brin’s career spans burglary to terrorism, serial rape to murder, with 15 years in British law enforcement after starting out in SAPS. Now with the NHS, he brings that same in...

No case breakdown. No fluff. Just a gripping conversation with one of the world’s top arson and bombing experts. We’re joined by Ed Nordskog —retired arson/bomb investigator for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, FBI instructor, US Marine vet, and author of six essential books on fire-related crime. With over 2,100 arson cases under his belt and profiles on dozens of serial arsonists, Ed is the...

What’s it like creating true crime content in South Africa? This week, we sit down with YouTuber and storyteller Tshego Paledi (44K+ subscribers) for a raw, behind-the-scenes look at life in the local crime content game. No case breakdowns—just an honest convo about the highs, hate, ethics, and emotional toll of documenting real stories of violence, injustice, and survival. From the cases that cha...

This week: one of the rarest — and most horrifying — crimes on earth. A baby ripped from the womb in a violent act of theft. We go deep into the case of Loretta Cook , a 24-year-old from Toekomsrus, whose web of lies led to murder and left a newborn fighting for life. South Africa has seen not one, but at least three known caesarean kidnappings — an almost unheard-of crime globally. Why here? Why...

We're stepping out of the morgue and into the mind — with one of the world’s top forensic psychologists. This week on Profiler Africa , our guest is Dr. Helinä Häkkänen , a Finnish powerhouse whose work has shaped war crimes trials, courtroom psychology, and criminal investigations from South Africa to The Hague. With over 60 publications and a career advising the ICC and European law enforcement,...

In this episode of Profiler Africa, we take a deep dive into the terrifying case of Stewart Wilken, South Africa's most notorious serial killer. Wilken's killing spree, which spanned the early 1990s, left a trail of horrific murders that shocked the nation. Through an in-depth analysis of his background, his brutal crimes, and the dark psychology behind his actions, we uncover the twisted...