MICKI: You don't catch a killer by simply looking at their most recent act.
You look into their soul.
MAN: Boys. Come here.
DR HATTINGH: They suspect the killer's started up again.
They need a forensic profiler.
We don't have profilers in this country.
You'll be the first.
CHRIS EKSTEEN: Ms Pistorius. Welcome to Cape Town.
Joey Adamse went missing on Friday afternoon.
And we have an eyewitness -
Joey's best friend, Tino.
Well, can I talk to him? I don't think that's a good idea.
CROWD: (CHATS) We want justice.
Things are volatile.
We don't need another detective.
We need another way into the case,
and I think she might just give us that.
You are a distraction to this team.
(CHILDREN SHOUT, CHEER)
Kick it back then.
Evan Prinsloo. He's been missing since yesterday.
If we're going to find Evan, we need the community's help.
We need to release the profile. It'll be chaos.
We have 21 dead bodies, two missing boys.
It's already chaos.
And this just arrived at your newsroom? Yes.
What do you make of it? It's David Berkowitz.
He's a serial killer. Late '70s, New York.
He wrote letters like this to police.
A copycat.
WOMAN: (WAILS) Joey! Joey!
CHILD: One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
16. 17.
18.
19.
20.
Boysie! Boysie!
Boysie!
Boy... Argh!
What the hell took you so long?
I couldn't find you.
You're bad at this game, Norman.
I don't want to.
Police! Open up.
Leighton Johnson. This is the Police.
We've got a warrant for your arrest.
Let's go!
Up! Arms up!
Down to the floor! To the floor!
Don't move.
I'll shoot your fucking head off.
Don't move. Don't move!
(HANDCUFFS CLINK)
Clear. Get up.
What is this?
Nothing. It's just papers. Letters.
You've got one chance and one chance only.
Where's Evan Prinsloo?
What? Evan Prinsloo?
Uh...the missing boy? I don't know. I swear. I...
..I don't know. I didn't take any boy, I didn't.
AJ.
OFFICER: All clear upstairs. I promise!
I...I just wrote the letters.
I just wanted to mess with them.
You have to believe me.
And? No sign of Evan.
Definitely not our guy. Are you sure?
What does he do for a living?
Travelling salesman.
He was out of town when Evan was taken.
He just wanted to mess us around.
While kids are dying. For fuck's sake.
It's Joey's post-mortem this morning.
I should be there.
I don't think it's necessary for her to be part of it.
Come and fetch you when it's time to go.
Small breaths through your mouth.
It will help.
Detective Eksteen. Here for your boy?
Doctor. Captain Pistorius.
It's her first time. I hope you can hold your stomach.
I don't have the staff to clean up after you.
Cause of death was asphyxiation.
It was done with the tracksuit pants around the neck.
Shallow and internal bruising confirms sodomy.
Some form of bondage.
You can see the bruises around the wrists.
He definitely struggled...
..but not for long.
(INTERCOM RINGS) Excuse me.
WOMAN: (OVER INTERCOM) Hi, Wilmien.
I need a second opinion on my patient.
Can I bother you?
A colleague needs a quick consult.
Can I ask you both to wait in the corridor while I'm gone?
Of course.
What do you see?
Mmm.
This.
Look.
Hands tied, like she said.
Right. Behind his back.
That's a pose displaying submission.
So, assuming the killer is an adult,
why would he need to tie up a boy half his size?
It's not like the child was able to fight back.
Some sadistic impulse?
Control.
That's what he craves.
It's what the bondage indicates.
Then look at how neat he left the scene.
It's the same with all of them.
See how he doesn't leave a mess?
He works methodically.
Cleanly.
We know he's pedantic about details from that corrected note,
but he's also organised.
Perfectionist. Yeah.
But not just with his work.
The way he leaves the bodies,
it tells us appearance is important to him.
He craves control.
He exercises it.
(SIGHS)
The sodomy.
I think our killer's fantasy world is fixated on the anal phase
of development.
It's around the age when children become obsessed with their anus.
With withholding or expelling faeces.
Stay with me.
It's the age when children learn they're able to control
their own bodily functions.
And some of them relish that control,
need to hold on to it.
That's where our Strangler's sexual fantasy sits.
Maybe some sort of trauma from his childhood
that he's reliving.
He'd have been sodomised or abused as a child.
Killing is his way of exerting control now
when he was powerless then.
He's stuck in the anal phase.
It's a lot to take in.
We all have our demons.
We don't all kill kids because of them.
If you're subject to that kind of abuse
during your formative years,
the damage can change you.
I think our killer identifies with the aggressor.
He's taking the active role.
The boys represent his younger self.
On a psychological level,
every time he kills one of them, he's committing suicide.
I wish he would do it on a real level.
Joey's friend...um, Tino.
Can I speak to him?
Remembers nothing.
I'd really like to try.
I'll ask.
Thank you.
PROTESTERS: (CHANT) We want justice!
We want justice! We want justice!
We want justice! We want justice! We want justice!
Shit.
MAN: We will not be intimidated by them.
(CHEERING)
(CLAMOURING, BANGING)
Just wait here.
Hey!
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! We want justice!
We want justice! We want justice! Sorry. Sorry.
We want justice! We want justice!
Murder! (SHOUTING)
Murder!
"Anal phase"? "Psychological suicide"? No, man.
The way Micki explained it,
think of them like...
..think of them like clues.
From what he does, we can tell what he wants.
And from that, we can tell who he is.
Really. I really think there's something in it.
Excuse my French, Lieutenant,
but I don't give a fuck what he wants.
I'm smarter than this bastard. (SCOFFS)
I'm not going to try and figure him out
like a...crossword puzzle in the back of Huisgenoot.
You don't have a choice, Rossouw.
This is how we work from now on.
(SHOUTING CONTINUES IN THE DISTANCE)
Your blood sugar must be through the roof.
Isn't that your fourth sandwich of the day?
(LAUGHS) (PHONE RINGS)
Oliver.
OK.
Thanks.
Good news.
We get to talk to Tino.
We're early.
Can I tempt you?
(LAUGHS)
Let's hope Tino can give us something to help us find Evan.
I have a kid the same age.
Ben.
I have these nightmares about coming home from work
and them telling me he's gone.
You're not sleeping?
Not for weeks.
Those nightmares you're having won't come true, you know.
They're echoes.
That's all.
You have them, too?
Everything's terrifying in the dark.
How do you cope?
I keep thinking about the light.
How once morning breaks, the darkness just disappears.
Has to.
And I chain-smoke.
Maybe don't do that part.
Your boy is safe, AJ.
I don't know.
Can we say any of them are?
Or any of us?
That's not comforting. Sorry.
Guess I talked myself out of the positive-thinking thing.
Job will do that.
So, I'm learning.
Shall we go in?
(SIGHS) Yeah.
Ma'am, can we get you a cup of tea?
Maybe some water?
No, thanks. I just want to get him home.
Tino,
I need to ask you some questions about the man you saw.
Will that be OK?
Do you remember?
Was he nicely dressed or dirty-looking?
He had a shirt with buttons on.
It's very smart that you remember that.
And when he spoke to you and Joey,
was he friendly?
Yes, Aunty.
You liked him? No, but Joey did.
Was the man calm when he spoke to you?
Did the man seem like he was nervous?
No, but he spoke soft.
You weren't scared of him at all?
Do you think you'd remember the face of the man, Tino?
I think you could.
Because I think you're very clever.
And you remember more than you think.
(WHISPERS) I need your help to find Evan.
Can you close your eyes for me?
Now think about how you were feeling that day.
How tired you were from all that walking.
Do you remember Joey's voice?
Do you know what it sounds like?
OK.
Now, here comes the man.
In his car, just like you said.
He drives up to you.
Then Joey gets up and walks over to the car.
Do you remember anything about the car?
What colour it was...
..what sort of shape it was?
There was something on the car.
What kind of thing?
A sticker.
Can you read, Tino?
A bit. Very good.
You can open your eyes now.
Pastor Phillips?
Do you have a piece of paper?
Thank you.
OK.
Can you make the shapes of any of the letters?
Come. Show me.
Mm-hm. Something "IS"...
Can you remember any of the other letters?
R and E and A.
You are doing so well.
I promise.
We're going to figure out what the rest
of that sticker said together, OK?
Like a puzzle.
So, we have "R-E-A", something "is".
Do you remember?
Was it any of these letters?
OK, good. Let's circle it.
This one?
Hmm?
"Reading in fun."
Thank you, Tino.
(SIGHS)
You have a way with people.
Do you think we can rely on what he said?
Yeah.
Yeah, I do.
I've got so much more.
The soft voice, how they weren't scared.
This man is gentle.
Trustworthy.
Children don't trust just anybody.
What kind of people do you know like that?
Priests.
Or teachers.
"Reading is fun."
Yeah.
OK, young man.
Is his hair shorter than this or longer?
His hair is short.
Like that? Yes.
OK. The nose. Was it pointed like this or more round?
Yes, like that. Round, huh?
Then, the eyes?
His eyes were small.
Like that? Yes.
And then he was wearing glasses? Yes.
Those? No.
These? Yes.
This is our guy.
AJ and I spoke to the boy, Tino.
You were right, Colonel.
He's traumatised, but he's smart.
We have an identikit image and a lead.
I think our suspect is a teacher.
We need to get my profile and the image out to all the schools
with a warning to...
Micki, let me remind you. I call operations on this case.
Yes.
The sticker on the car he used when he took Joey said,
"Reading is fun."
And a teacher would know how to communicate with children,
put them at ease.
His attention to detail. Him being a perfectionist.
It all fits.
You buying this?
Yeah, Colonel. It makes sense.
So, we just trek around all the schools,
asking if the teachers are killers?
Have you got a better idea?
OK, let's get it out.
But five-kilometre radius only.
Got it?
Let's hope we're not wasting time that Evan doesn't have.
So, to me managing to drag you out of the office
and to new beginnings.
Five years of marriage and he moves on in five minutes.
Jeez.
Maybe I should do the same.
Anyone in mind?
Hunky detective?
Definitely not.
They hardly give me the time of day,
let alone anything more.
Need your big sister to come and knock some heads together?
Yeah.
Maybe.
Maybe you should come home.
All of this can't be good for you, anyway.
Is that the reason for the surprise visit?
Come to bring me home.
No, they need me here.
Doesn't sound like they feel the same way.
Not the detectives.
The boys.
(SIREN WAILS IN THE DISTANCE)
Hi.
Can I just...yeah, can I just take your name then, please?
(PHONE RINGS)
Eksteen, good morning.
I'm calling about the identikit image.
I'm the Head of Forest Close Primary School.
I think I recognise the man as a member of our staff.
What is the address?
He's been off for a few days.
Said he wasn't feeling well.
CHILDREN: Sorry, Ma'am.
He's a nice man.
Good teacher. The children love him.
But when I read the profile,
that part about him being a perfectionist...
Well, plenty of teachers are neat and tidy.
It goes with the territory.
But Norman...
..appearances really matter to him, you know?
Something about that...
..well, it made me think.
This is his classroom.
Mrs Damons,
have you noticed anything suspicious before now?
He was playful.
He used to come knock on the doors to the classrooms.
Scare the kids.
Scare how?
He'd shout out, "Open up. It's the Strangler."
I thought it was just a bad joke.
Really bad.
I told myself it was nothing.
I didn't think...
He didn't like to do ground patrol either.
He just refused.
Why? Never said.
Why would he?
He knew the Strangler wasn't out there.
(PHONE RINGS)
Hello.
(OVER PHONE) Good morning, Micki. Do you have a pen and paper?
(SIGHS) Write this down.
36 Southeastern Road.
What's there? Norman Simons.
Possibly our killer.
27-year-old primary school teacher.
The headmistress matched him to the identikit.
And some of what she says about him, it all fits your profile.
I've got some of the guys heading over there now.
Micki?
(BANG AT DOOR)
Mrs Simons?
We're the Police.
We're looking for Norman. Is he here?
He's away for a few days for work.
We're going to need to ask you to let us in, ma'am.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
Kitchen's clear.
Um, who else lives here?
Our daughter.
Norman's sister?
OK.
Anyone else?
Not anymore.
There used to be someone else?
My son, Boysie, but he's long gone.
You've lived here a long time?
All their lives.
Why are you come for him?
Mrs Simons, there's an identikit image of Norman.
It's everywhere.
If people see it, he's in danger out there.
Can I see his room?
It's upstairs.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS)
The nurse on duty confirmed that a man matching his description
checked in earlier.
He's just through there.
Thank you.
Norman Simons.
Who, are you?
We need to know if he took Evan.
As soon as possible.
Let's go and find out.
We'll be here if you need us.
COLONEL: You've had quite the run, Mr Simons.
I want to know where Evan Prinsloo is.
We're not going to leave here until you tell us.
I don't...
Think carefully about your answer.
Norman?
Do you mind telling us a bit about yourself, Norman?
What do you do for a living?
I'm a teacher.
What drew you to teaching?
Not relevant. Everything is relevant.
I'd like to know more about...
This isn't a therapy session. We need to know where the boy is.
Colonel, could we step outside, please?
He's overwhelmed.
We need to give him an hour to acclimatise, then try again.
OK. Thank you.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Thank you.
OK, guys.
Hey, Linda. Oh! Thank you. Micki, do you want any?
Chris says you people never have time to eat.
Thank you.
Thank you, Linda. Thank you, Linda.
You sure you want to go in alone?
I only need a few minutes.
If the Colonel asks? I pulled rank. Don't worry.
Have you eaten anything?
Here.
Thank you.
Do you know what an 'amafufunyana' is?
It's Xhosa culture.
The invasion of a person by an evil spirit.
Possession, basically.
Norman said this happened to him when he was young.
When did you speak to him?
Possession?
Don't be stupid, man.
He's setting up his defence.
I took him some food.
He hadn't eaten for hours.
I think I can get somewhere with him.
Let me try.
Fine.
Do your best.
Tell me more about the amafufunyana,
the evil spirit.
It came over you, didn't it?
It was powerful
and dark and you couldn't resist it.
Yes.
I felt him come into me.
Who is he?
OK.
So, the spirit came.
What did it tell you to do?
Did it tell you to take Evan?
You tried to get help, didn't you?
You asked doctors for help, but they couldn't...
You can't medicate this away. No.
No, I don't think you can.
When did you kill the first boy?
Now.
Tell me.
I was 18.
Young.
You were in so much pain, weren't you?
You've been in my head, Norman.
You know that?
Like Boysie.
He's your brother?
He lives inside my head, too.
But he isn't a good man.
What does he tell you to do when he's inside your head?
He tells me to hide.
And that if I hide, he will come find me.
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
Did killing the boys help?
One time...
..I killed two of them at once.
One in this hand...
..and one in the other.
See, if you put your arms in the right position...
..then they cannot move.
And all you have to do is squeeze.
And what about Evan, Norman?
Is that what you did to him?
Squeeze?
This is Evan.
Could you look at it, please, Norman?
Can you tell me if this is one of the boys you took?
He'll take us to the crime scenes.
Nice work, Captain.
We can't go down there.
We can't be seen to have interfered.
He needs to point out the scenes without us.
(CAMERA CLICKS)
That's where we found Joey.
OFFICER: (OVER RADIO) Come in, Lieutenant Eksteen.
Four, kilo, one.
Eksteen. (RADIO BEEPS)
Suspect is pointing out a spot close to Monwabisi Beach.
We don't have that listed as an active scene.
Evan?
(RADIO BEEPS) We're heading over there now.
Let's go for it.
He says he buried Evan's body out here. We haven't found anything.
Keep on looking.
Can we put him in here with you? Everyone else is out searching.
Of course.
Move.
Get in.
Stay with her.
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
Chris.
A long gap?
Hmm.
Micki.
We've found the clothes Evan was last seen in.
We can charge him.
(PHONE RINGS)
Hello. (OVER PHONE) Hi, Dr Hattingh.
Is it too late to call? Sorry.
It's never too late, Micki. You know that.
How are you? Confused.
Exhausted. Scared.
All of the above.
It's your first real case.
It'll always leave a mark.
Yeah.
I'm not sure it's left a mark as much as a...
..hole the size of a cannonball.
They're lucky to have you, you know that?
I'm not sure they think that.
Is there something wrong with me?
Why do you ask that?
I should hate the men who do these terrible things.
The detectives all do.
But I can't.
What does that say about me?
It says you understand them.
You've never been black and white, Micki.
Never have and never will be.
Maybe that can be your superpower if you let it.
Can you?
Captions by Red Bee Media (c) SBS Australia 2024