7 high-profile South African cases covered in Strangers You Know

South Africa is a dangerous place – you can’t deny it. Not when we’re surrounded by crime and murder every day. But what turns an untimely and unthinkable death into something more tragic is when the victim died at the hands of a person (or people) they loved and lived with and knew.

The cases covered in this South African docuseries all fit into that devastating category. Here’s what to expect.

Episode 1 – The Mooinooi Farm Murders

Same-sex couple Anisha and Joey van Niekerk’s burnt bodies were found next to a river in Brits in December 2017. They’d been tortured, beaten, raped and murdered – and their four assailants were arrested and put on trial. But what came out during the trial was shocking – the real mastermind behind the senseless crime was Jacobus Strydom, a farmer who tricked the couple into coming to his farm to sign an offer to purchase the farm – it was entirely premeditated, and Jacobus committed suicide before being sentenced.

Episode 2 – Palesa Madiba

University of Johannesburg student Palesa Madiba went to a friend for a sleepover in 2013 and was never seen again. Until her body was found. While her friend Tshidi claims that Palesa had left before she’d woken up after their party at home, the truth is that Tshidi’s uncle, Dumisani Mkhwanazi, had murdered her. Already on trial (although released on bail) on charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, defeating the administration of justice, and the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, he was sentenced for Palesa’s murder and refused to reveal why and how it had happened.

Episode 3 – Gill Packham

School administrator Gill was murdered and found in the boot of her car in 2018. But what first looked like a hijacking gone wrong turned into a terror story – her businessman husband Rob was publicly called out in court and accused of the murder. Sitting silently, Rob was told by the prosecuting team how he’d had an affair and been caught by his wife, so he murdered her to cover up his crime and made it look like a hijacking. And there wasn’t much more he could say to defend himself…

Episode 4 – Baby Jenna May

Melissa Dyer had dreamt of being a mom. She wanted a daughter to play dress-up with and whom she could help grow into a woman. But that was taken away from her in 2006 when pregnant Melissa was hijacked. Instead of being pulled from her car and left, Melissa was shot in the stomach and lost her unborn baby daughter, Jenna May. Now, 14 years later, Melissa has been forced to relieve the trauma and heartache when her child’s murderer was released on parole.

Episode 5 – Karabo Mokoena

Murderers are monsters. But there’s a special place reserved for murderers who try to cover up their crimes by destroying any evidence. In 2017, Sandile Mantsoe was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Karabo Mokoena. The court case hurt her family more than losing Karabo. Sandile claimed to have found her dead in his Sandton apartment and that he didn’t kill her. Instead, he tried to dispose of her by dousing her in petrol and setting her alight. Worse yet, the pathologist told the court that she couldn’t confirm if Karabo was dead or still alive when Sandile torched her…

(Note that episode 6 is not available on Showmax)

Episode 7 – Anene Booysen

Seventeen-year-old Anene Booysen went out on a Friday night in February 2013 and never returned home. She was found barely alive the next morning at a Cape Town construction site, having been beaten, abused, assaulted, tortured, gang raped and finally disembowelled by her attackers who’d hoped she would die before being found. She was rushed to hospital and was able to identify one of the men who’d done this to her. While Anene died six hours later, the police arrested the men responsible – while Anene claimed that it was six men, only two were put on trial.

Episode 8 – Jayde Panayiotou

PE schoolteacher Jayde went missing in April 2015 and her body was found later in the veld – she’d been executed. Pretty grisly and an unspeakable crime that got the country talking when her “witness” hubby Chris was arrested for orchestrating everything. Yip, the guy sobbing and pleading for any info on her killers’ arrest was the guy who’d paid them to do the deed. He didn’t count on his wife’s killers being bumbling amateurs who’d split on him and tell the cops everything after they were arrested.