(THEME MUSIC)
(RATTLING)
MAN: Boys! Come here.
You two looking for some work?
You see these boxes in the back here?
Yeah.
I need help taking them to my warehouse
and unloading them when we get there.
I'll pay you three rand per box.
12 rand, uncle?
Yeah. And I'll give you a four rand bonus, just for your trouble.
Come, you.
Here, get in.
Alright, I'll see you later, then.
(DISTANT ROCK MUSIC)
(TURNS OFF MUSIC)
Control.
Power.
These two go hand-in-hand.
But power over life and death,
no, that's the ultimate control.
Close your eyes.
Now...
..imagine...
..you are standing over another person,
your hands around their neck.
You have their life in your hands.
How does that make you feel?
Powerful?
Omnipotent?
Now imagine being in that position,
but your whole life you've felt powerless.
Abused.
Frightened.
And now you've turned the tables.
You're the one in control now.
You get to decide, do they live or do they die?
So you're the previously powerless killer who wants to reverse that.
How do you choose your victim?
OK, you can all open your eyes again now.
In this type of case,
our killer selects victims who represent himself.
Symbolically, when he kills, he's committing a kind of suicide.
But he's also able to split the two parts of himself.
Aggressor.
Victim.
And so feelings of guilt continue to operate.
You think he has a conscience?!
Ah, some do, some don't.
It's not clear-cut.
There is no such thing as a person
who at the age of 35
suddenly changes from perfectly normal to totally evil.
FBI criminologist, Robert Ressler.
He's interviewed hundreds of killers in his career,
so I trust when he says killers are created.
This man is a murderer.
A monster, you might say.
But he's also an abused child, a bullied teenager.
A victimised, angry adult.
We all contain shadows of our former selves.
We carry them within us.
You need to look at a killer and try and see these other selves.
Understand them.
You look into their soul.
You don't catch a killer by simply looking at their most recent act.
You remember what I said to you when you first started lecturing here?
You said I'd get older and the students would stay young.
Yeah.
Well, that's true. That still applies.
What else did I say?
"Micki, don't put a cushion on your chair."
Exactly.
I have a feeling you're about to tell me
I'm destined for greater things.
I've been watching you convince
students like that boy to look deeper.
You want a chance at convincing the real world?
Police are looking.
They need someone like you. For what?
The police don't use psychologists and...I'm no counsellor.
There's a task team
looking into those killings in Mitchells Plain.
21 boys gone since '86.
That case?
But it ran cold in '92, didn't it?
It did.
Another boy's gone missing?
They suspect the killer started up again.
The community's volatile.
They need results.
They want to try out something new.
They need a forensic profiler.
We don't have profilers in this country.
No.
You'll be the first.
I'm not a detective.
You don't have to be.
You can teach the detectives.
Think of them as those kids in there.
I'm not qualified.
You have a gift, Micki.
You're overqualified.
That fear inside of you...
..you need to let it go.
Those boys in Mitchells Plain need you to let it go.
REPORTER: In Mitchells Plain this morning,
thousands of police and locals resumed a dual hunt.
On the one hand, the gruesome search for more bodies,
on the other, the increasingly desperate tracking down
of the psychotic killer responsible,
as the man known as the Station Strangler
threatened to become South Africa's
most notorious serial killer in history.
Local residents laid siege to the local police station this morning,
venting their anger on senior officers
who they say have adopted a lazy approach
to the devastating murders.
Much of the anger is over the way
the police have handled the investigation
into these sadistic killings.
One community leader said this morning
that if the victims had been white children,
the killer would have been arrested days ago.
MAN: There's just teargas going all around, hey.
Gas was coming in from the left and the right.
I told Louis, "Man, drop to the fricken deck, man."
(MEN LAUGH) He didn't listen to me.
Didn't pay any attention, you know?
It's not funny.
Why are you guys drinking at nine o'clock in the morning?
There's our girl.
Miss Pistorius. Lieutenant Eksteen.
Welcome to Cape Town.
Oh. Dankie.
Jannie! (WHISTLES)
MAN: Have you been to Cape Town before?
Long time ago. Just for holidays.
Huh.
Pretoria girl?
More an every place girl.
Pretoria. Grew up in London, then Paris, but all over really.
I'm sorry to ask, but how exactly are you gonna help with the case?
Well, if you'll let me, I'm going to help you understand
the motivations of your killer.
Um, their origin story.
Know their why.
We need to catch him, not feel sorry for him.
This is your first time?
First time in the field, yeah.
Joey Adamse went missing on Friday afternoon.
Still stays with his grandmother, bounces between parents.
The family's a mess.
And why do you think Joey's disappearance
is connected to the serial murders?
MO's match.
And we have an eyewitness this time.
Joey's best friend, Tino.
He saw him take him?
He couldn't remember much of the day.
He said the man promised them money, that's what got Joey into the car.
Very similar to the previous cases.
OK.
So, he's talking to the boys, gaining their trust.
Could be.
Is there a description?
No. The boy's traumatised.
Well, can I talk to him?
I don't think that's a good idea.
I need all the information you have.
I need to know everything.
We have transcripts from our previous interview.
You can read those.
Search parties. Out every day.
You think the boy might still be alive?
Were any of the previous victims held?
We keep hoping until we know better.
(PEOPLE SHOUT)
Joey's the 22nd.
Things are volatile.
Do not leave the compound without an escort.
Colonel Venter's your unit commander.
You'll report to him.
Where can I work?
I need to get started on the profile.
Your office is this way.
Detectives work in this main building.
Task team out in this cooler box.
Welcome.
And here you go.
Your official appointment certificate.
Congratulations. You're a police officer.
That's it? No parade?
Find the guy taking these boys and I'll throw you a parade myself.
(SIGHS) I know it's a lot.
I'll be up to date by this afternoon.
That's good.
We can visit the crime scenes together,
if that helps your...process.
And maybe wear something more comfortable, if you have it.
It will be a long day. Mm-hm.
"Welcome to the force."
The first three bodies were found in this area.
Not well hidden.
Easy to find if you know what you're looking for.
And did you know what you were looking for?
Not at first.
As you can see, the bodies weren't placed
very far from each other.
Autopsy suggests they could have been brought here weeks,
even months apart.
Yeah.
I noticed that.
He kept returning.
Risky.
Over here is where we found the first body.
Nine years old.
Ricardo Williams.
That's right.
He was strangled.
With his T-shirt.
I remember.
Hands tied behind his back,
body positioned face down.
We only found a skeleton.
Over there is where we found the second body.
David Smit.
Autopsy showed that he was sodomised.
You'll see the exact same positioning of the body.
Oh, shit.
Here.
Let me take it.
CHILD: Oh, yeah! Kick it!
(CHILDREN SHOUT)
Yeah! Yeah!
(CAR APPROACHES)
Kick it back, eh?
MAN: You've got a strong kick on you.
Come on, Evan!
You know, you can be a real player. Yes.
EKSTEEN: Visiting police officers stay here.
There's not much privacy, but...it is very safe.
See you tomorrow.
CROWD: (CHANTS) We want justice! We want justice! We want justice!
We want justice! We want justice! We want justice! We want justice!
We want justice! We want justice!
Are you hearing me, Colonel? I mean, are you out there looking?
Are you looking for my grandson?
Miss Adamse.
You're frustrated, OK? I'm frustrated.
But I can assure you
we are doing everything we can to find your grandson, OK?
And how many children must go missing
before you can take the community seriously, eh?
You and your government about elections, elections.
Mandela this and Mandela that!
Look here, Venter. Our children are dying, OK?
He was always home by half past four.
Always, always.
We have that information.
He was...he was wearing his blue T-shirt with...
..with...and his burgundy tracksuit pants.
We have that information already.
Look.
My officers are on duty 24/7.
Some of them haven't seen their own families in days.
That's all I can give you.
I... I'm... I'm sorry. I...
It's OK. I should get back.
(SOBS) It's OK. It's OK.
Hush. It's OK.
We should go.
EKSTEEN: Micki.
Louis Rossouw.
Rossouw!
He's from Peninsula Murder and Robbery, working along with Jannie.
Loots and Adams, both on assignment from head office.
Our detectives answering to our lead detective,
AJ Oliver, who you know.
What's this now, Eksteen, a bloody guided tour?
Colonel, please meet the newest member of head office...
Yeah, I know who she is.
Adams.
We can't have families pitching up here every fucking day.
Tell charge office to keep them out front.
Colonel.
AJ and Adams are gonna bring Leroy in.
I want her to interrogate him.
Um...who's Leroy?
MAN: One! Yah!
Two! Yah!
Three!
EKSTEEN: Leroy Paulse.
35 years of age.
Local resident of Mitchells Plain.
Yah!
We had him down as a suspect in '93,
but couldn't really pin anything on him.
Six! Yah!
There's something about the guy that's always been really off.
Eight! Yah!
He's got a wicked temper, Micki.
Yah!
Could you take this table away, please?
Mr Paulse.
My name is Micki Pistorius.
I'm part of the Station Strangler task team.
No, you're not.
So, where's the other guy?
It's just me today.
Rossouw?
Captain Rossouw is busy, so we're stuck together.
It's me or no-one.
Well, I'm not gonna talk to no fucking rookie.
Oh.
Well...
..I am very sorry to hear that.
What's your name again?
Captain Micki Pistorius.
Now, sit. Come sit here.
Why you want to run away? Come and have a seat with me.
Shame, you really want to catch him, don't you?
Who?
The Station Strangler.
But you won't. Not you.
Why not me?
Because you don't live here, lady.
Where are you from?
You don't know the Strangler.
Do you? Everyone does.
What kind of person is he?
He's clever.
A nice ou.
He likes children. Mm.
I've heard you work with children.
Yeah. Because they must fight. Protect themselves.
You teach them how to fight?
To fight.
To use this.
Did you grow up here?
No, not here.
All over, really.
PE, Durban.
A little bit in Jo'burg. Mm, I know what that feels like.
Moving around from place to place.
Do you know Joey Adamse?
Mr Paulse, does the name ring a bell?
Joey Adamse. He's a boy from this area.
You're nervous, aren't you?
What makes you say that?
Because your hands are sweating.
Well, um...
..we don't know each other very well.
I get nervous around new people.
I'm not very outgoing, I live in my head a lot.
So, it makes sense I'm a bit nervous now, right?
I'm sure you get like that sometimes too.
Was.
Excuse me?
Joey Adamse WAS a kid from this area.
Did I know him?
He's not alive anymore.
And how do you know that?
When did you last see him?
I don't know. Days? Weeks? What?
Did he come to any of your classes?
Did you spend any time with him at all?
It's dark where you're going, lady.
Where?
Into the abyss.
Are you OK?
Oh. Yeah, I'm fine.
He's not our guy. Just your everyday psychopath.
Yes, sir. One session to figure that out, hey?
How do you reckon that, huh?
Well, he likes the attention.
He's a showman.
He's charming.
Manipulative but not enough to lure victims that young.
I'm saying he doesn't present the way I'd expect for this type of killer.
Someone who's been operating for this long without detection.
I'm not convinced he could rein himself in enough for that.
So he didn't do it?
My gut says no, sir.
We're trusting your gut already?
For a first-timer you did good.
Eksteen.
My office.
Is this a colouring book? EKSTEEN: Colonel?
Answer me. Is this a fucking colouring book?
No, Colonel.
Is this a crayon?
That's a pen, Colonel.
So, if this is not a colouring book
and this is not a crayon.
Why the fuck am I running a daycare centre?
If this is about Micki...
Yeah, of course, it's about fucking Micki.
Imagine my surprise when I get a call from Mufamadi himself.
OK? While I'm inhaling the breakfast I never have time to eat.
To tell me, "Congratulations.
"We're sending you a psychologist."
I'm racking my brain trying to remember
when I asked for a fucking shrink!
I called Hattingh for his advice.
I didn't ask him to send her. Oh, well, here she is.
She's cluttering up my task team.
And now Pretoria expects a nice weekly report on her progress
that you will be responsible for writing
since I asked for another detective.
But never mind what we need.
Lieutenant Eksteen has ideas.
With all respect, sir...
..we have nothing.
We don't need another detective.
We need another way into the case and I...
..I think she might just give us that.
(CAR ENGINE REVS)
MAN: This country is fucked.
MAN: Hey!
(CHEERING)
Here we go, guys. The drinks.
Oh, April's coming, hey, whether the fool likes it or not.
Exactly. Can I, um...?
Can I get another one? Yeah.
Voila.
Thanks.
May I ask you a question?
Sure.
That table today.
What was that?
Oh.
Men who get kicks out of killing,
often get kicks out of talking about it too.
And I need to be able to see that.
It feels weird to be drinking out here.
Shooting the breeze, making jokes, while he's out there.
I know.
But you do this job for a minute,
it's the drinks, it's the guys.
Sometimes they're the only things
that keep you from losing your fucking mind completely.
Hm.
Yeah.
I guess you become like family.
Spend more time with them than their own.
They say you aren't South African Police
if you don't have at least one failed marriage under your belt.
Well, in that case, I'm ahead of the game.
How many under your belt?
Two. And you?
Just the one.
And I am in no hurry to repeat the experience.
(SIGHS)
(PHONE RINGS)
Hello. Eksteen.
Shit.
I'm on my way.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(HUBBUB)
Who's the boy?
Evan Prinsloo. Five years old. Single mother, Celia.
He's been missing since yesterday.
Cousin found his soccer ball in Edgar Crescent near the fields.
Fuck.
And then...? (SIREN WHOOPS)
She called us but by then they'd already heard...
Loots!
Ladies and gents, please, we just need you to be calm.
(CROWD SHOUTS)
No! No, man!
Don't tell me to calm down.
No! I'm not gonna do that!
(CONTINUES SHOUTING)
OK, he appears to be organised.
He leaves no clues.
Yeah, he must plan carefully.
He doesn't mutilate the victims.
He sodomises them.
Why?
And sex for him is aggression.
A fixation developed in the late-latency to...
..early genital phase.
Manipulation.
But why the long gap between killings?
Where did you go?
OK, so we reconstruct the crime scene.
Think about why he felt safe enough to act then.
Why there?
Micki.
What happened?
Another boy. You didn't know?
No. I've been in here since 7:00.
Sorry, writing a profile takes time.
We don't have any time.
Do you have anything that can help us?
Yep.
FBI research tells us that serial killers
tend to start killing in their early 20s.
As this killer has been active for eight years,
he'll be in his late-20s to early-30s, a local,
and possibly the same race as the victims.
A person of any other race in the company of a boy
would be noticed by that community.
They're highly suspicious of outsiders.
He'll have needed to be able to present himself
as a normal member of the community -
going to church, buying groceries, visiting restaurants.
The killer is clearly familiar with the area,
knows the dunes well
and perhaps spent time there as a child.
How would you know that?
The choice of crime scenes.
They imply an intimate knowledge of the geography.
Easy enough to find if you know where they are
but hidden from view of the surrounding streets.
He knew which paths were deserted.
Knew the good hiding spots.
Those dunes are remote.
You can't hear any voices up there.
No traffic.
The bodies displayed no signs of struggle,
yet those boys followed him far out
of their own free will.
They trusted him completely.
I think our killer is proud of his work.
You can't know what he's thinking.
No, but the note in one of the victim's pockets,
that was him correcting us.
He's systematic and he wants us to know it.
Look.
The newspaper said Nathan Goliath was victim number 14
and our killer saw that, went back to the scene,
placed a note on Robert's body to make sure we got the order right.
"Number 14.
"Many more in store."
That tells me he's precise.
He knows exactly where his victims are left and he returns to them.
There's a sense of perfectionism there.
And he likes order.
I think that's reflected in how he presents himself.
How he dresses.
That's what I have.
So now what?
I suggest we release the profile today.
If we're going to find Joey and Evan, we need the community's help.
How, Captain Pistorius?
You've just described a ghost.
With respect, sir, our other leads are blind speculation.
This is more concrete than anything we have.
Have you seen those people at the gates?
We'll be starting a witch-hunt.
I agree. We need facts.
These are educated guesses informed by material evidence.
Educated guesses? Sounds like a hunch to me.
We need to release the profile.
It'll be chaos.
We have 21 dead bodies,
two missing boys, no real leads.
It's already chaos.
If this fucks up the investigation,
I'll make sure both of you are dropped from this task team.
OK? You'll be back in Pretoria and you...
..I'll have your badge.
We clear?
Ja, Colonel.
(CROWD YELLS)
OLIVER: "Not knowing what the future holds,
"I shall say farewell and see you at the next job.
"Or should I say you will see my handy work at the next job?
"You must not forget about Donna..."
Lauria, I think.
Can't quite make out the handwriting.
So you're a journalist at the Cape Times
and this arrived in your newsroom?
Yes. Addressed to me via regular unregistered mail.
Convenient timing.
Are there any more letters?
Yes.
That one came yesterday and two more today.
I brought them with, so you can have a look.
EKSTEEN: What do you make of it?
I've heard this name before.
Which name? Donna Lauria.
And this line,
"not knowing what the future holds."
It's David Berkowitz.
Who? Son of Sam.
He's a serial killer. Late-'70s, New York.
He wrote letters like this to police to taunt them.
The letters were later published in books.
A copycat. Mm.
And a plagiarist,
if he's modelling himself after Berkowitz.
No, that's good.
Yeah, it means we're a step ahead. Um...
Can we do a sweep of the city libraries?
Find out which branches have books about Berkowitz on their shelves.
Compile a list of people who've checked them out.
Now you're thinking like a detective.
(PHONE RINGS)
Hello. JANNIE: How's it, Micki?
How's your Saturday?
Just been to get myself a birthday cake. What's going on?
Yeah. You're needed at the station. Um...
I'll send someone to come get you.
Happy birthday. Bring cake, hey?
WOMAN: (WHISPERS) I tell you, he's dangerous.
MAN: You think he could be the Strangler?
Why?
He fucks chickens.
I'll take that. Thank you. What's going on?
Venter's on a warpath. With who?
You.
Have you seen what's going on out there?
Every madman in Mitchells Plain is coming out of the woodwork.
Every fucker who has an issue with his neighbour,
he's calling him the Strangler.
So, three dozen leads in 24 hours.
And one of them could be our killer.
Look, Colonel, this was always going to be the risk we took.
Risk?! Oh, no, no.
You never said anything about risk, OK?
Not when you were standing here with your profile
and your psychology kak.
OK. I said it would be a risk.
I said if you fucked with my investigation...
But who's to say none of the leads are good?
We won't know that until we follow up.
Yeah, and who's sitting on the phone
taking statements like a fucking clerk?
Me?!
I'm trying to find two missing boys and my doors are trampled down.
Colonel, isn't that what we want?
I mean, don't we want the community to be involved, to help us look?
Of course there'll be some false leads,
but if we're doing our job properly...
Hey! Listen here.
I've been doing my job for 25 years.
OK? I've arrested killers, rapists, every lunatic you can think of.
And I did it by using experience and instinct.
How many convictions have you had, Ms Pistorius?
How many arrests?
I'm asking you... None, Colonel.
I'm trying to catch a killer.
And head office thinks it can drop you in my lap.
Make you my problem.
But let me be clear.
You are a distraction to this team.
And to this investigation.
What do you need, Colonel?
What I need is manpower.
That's not going to happen because this country is fucked
and no-one gives a shit about a nothing township in the Cape Flats.
I have to make do with what I have before another child turns up dead.
But what I don't need...
..is a degree in a skirt.
Dankie.
ROSSOUW: Mind if I join you?
You smoke?
This stuff in Rwanda's terrible, hey?
I mean it's kak here too, but...
There's some perspective for you. Just got plenty, thanks.
He's right, you know.
That I'm a degree in a skirt?
Head office just dropped you on us.
No warnings, no debates.
I took this job because I thought I could make the theory real.
Save real lives.
Life is rigged.
So I just sit quietly in my tin can,
passing the time until I can clock off?
Look, work your cases,
clock your nine-to-fives,
don't stick your neck in the wind.
Do that and in a few years I'll be sending you a promotion form.
JANNIE: Hey! (WHISTLES)
Call just came through.
They found a boy in Faure. Might be one of ours.
OK.
Let me take you back to the station.
You can have a look at the photographs later.
I need to see him.
(WEEPS)
WOMAN: (SCREAMS) Joey!
Joey!
(SCREAMS)
(WAILS)
(CONTINUES WAILING)
(WHISPERS) Happy fuckin' birthday.
Captions by Red Bee Media (c) SBS Australia 2024