‘Devilsdorp’ scare you? Here are more SA horrors
DEVILS DORP, a new documentary series on Showmax about a series of murders that rocked Krugersdorp in 2016, has captivated South Africa.
All together, 11 murders were carried out by members of cult-like religious group, Electus Per Deus (Chosen by God), under the leadership of Cecilia Steyn, between 2011 and 2016.
Steyn, who claimed to be a 42nd generation witch, is portrayed as a conniving, manipulative con woman who enlisted the help of a handful of devoted Christians to help her escape the clutches of Satanism.
She would eventually lead this hapless group down a dark path of murder and mayhem that culminated in a murder trial that stunned the country.
The Krugersdorp murders, however, are by no means the only bizarre crimes SA has seen in recent years.
We’ve put together a list of some of the most sensational cases in recent criminal history. They are stories that captured the imagination of SA – and shocked many people to the core.
Madeleen Bredenhann: A murder case that boggled the mind
The only person who knows the true answer to why 59-year-old Elma Bredenhann and her 89-yearold mother Dassie Wambach were hacked to death is Madeleen Bredenhann, who has been convicted of the killings despite the apparent lack of a motive.
She was 29 in 2004 when she was sentenced to two life terms for the axe killings. Although she had blood splatters on her pyjamas, she denied attacking them in their beds.
An appeal court judge confirmed her convictions but said it was clear the petite woman did not act alone.
Henri van Breda: Cold-blooded killer with a baby face
Baby-faced Henri van Breda is serving three life sentences for the 2015 murders of his parents and elder brother, and 15 years for the attempted murder of his sister.
The then 23-year-old Van Breda was sentenced in 2018. He showed no remorse for the murders at the Van Breda family home in the De Zalze security estate in Stellenbosch.
His sister, Marli Van Breda, who was 16 at the time of the attack, barely survived. Van Breda maintained his innocence, claiming instead a laughing, axe-wielding attacker, also armed with a knife, was behind the murders.
The motive remained a mystery. Don Steenkamp: A bloody Easter weekend killing spree
Then-teenager Don Steenkamp was sentenced in 2018 after being convicted of the premeditated murders of his parents, Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and his 14-year-old sister Marthella.
It was also found he had raped Marthella on multiple occasions and that that could have been the reason for the murders on Good Friday, 2012.
Their bodies were found with multiple bullet wounds, on their farm, Naauwhoek, near Griquatown. Steenkamp maintained his innocence.
Poppie van der Merwe: An angel face that masked a life of pain and suffering
Poppie van der Merwe was only three when she died a slow and painful death at the hands of her stepfather Kobus Koekemoer, while her biological mother did nothing to help her.
The horrific story of the abuse of Poppy unfolded in court over eight months as her parents moved around to avoid social services.The child was beaten, humiliated and neglected.
After another horrendous beating, her stepfather took her to hospital, but she was already dead. Her little body covered with bruises and she had suffered major brain injury.
The judge presiding over the 2018 trial said, while looking at the pictures of the battered child, he had never seen anything like that in his career.
The mother received a 10-year sentence for child abuse and the stepdad a life sentence.