Profiler

Over the past few months, several of our documentaries temporarily disappeared from this channel.That wasn’t an algorithm issue.It was the result of an ongoing legal battle over ownership, authorship, and exploitation of African-made crime television — a case now before the courts.The documentaries are now back on the channel.We’re asking you to watch, share, and amplify them.To help people understand what’s really going on, we published a short explainer video:

This week on Profiler Africa, hosts Paul Llewellyn and Gérard Labuschagne unpack one of the most disturbing family murder cases in South African history — the Griekwastad murders.In a quiet Northern Cape farming town, an entire family was brutally killed. What followed was an investigation that challenged assumptions about motive, youth violence, emotional detachment, and the limits of early detection. This episode traces the case from the very first report at the police station through to conviction — and the ongoing controversy surrounding parole.We also explain why, due to changes in South African law, the convicted offender is not named — and why that does not prevent a full psychological and investigative examination of the case.This episode explores:how the case initially presented to policebehavioural red flags that shifted the investigationmotive versus emotion in family annihilationwhat the case reveals about adolescent offendersand why Griekwastad still unsettles the country todayThis discussion lea

What happens when a criminal case is built not on physical evidence — but on memory?In this episode of Profiler Africa, co-hosts Paul Llewellyn and forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne examine recovered memories and their use in criminal prosecutions.The discussion explores how memory functions, why it is inherently unreliable, and how therapy — when poorly conducted — can unintentionally create false or contaminated memories. Drawing on South African case experience and international forensic standards, the episode explains why recovered memories are treated with caution in many courts — and what happens when that caution is ignored.This episode is not about disbelief.It is about evidence, due process, and preventing injustice on all sides.

In 2022, a 13-year-old boy was murdered in Klawer after stealing fruit from a garden.The man responsible, Daniel Hugo Smit, chased the child in his vehicle, abducted him, and killed him. Claims of occult influence and diminished responsibility were rejected by the court, which sentenced Smit to life imprisonment.In this episode of Profiler Africa, Paul Llewellyn and forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne unpack:the psychology of rage-based violenceentitlement and escalationwhy this was not a psychosis-driven crimehow offenders rationalise extreme actswhat this case teaches us about prevention

Durban, March 2011.Four men murdered in eight days — two decapitated. All strangers. All ambushed and hacked to death with an axe.The killer: Joseph Phindile Ntshongwana, former Blue Bulls flanker whose life collapsed into delusion, paranoia, and violent psychosis.Family saw the warning signs — hallucinations, erratic behaviour, and a fixed belief in a daughter who didn’t exist.In this episode, forensic psychologist Prof Gerard Labuschagne joins host Paul Llewellyn to unpack how the murders were linked, what the forensic evidence proved, where delusion meets legal responsibility, and why every appeal failed.Profiler Africa — where psychology meets the crime scene.Follow the show.Rate and review.Share with someone who loves true crime.

This week, we break down the case of Annerize LeoniceSmith, who poisoned her partner Russell Kriel, a respected teacherand rugby mentor, and hid his death for 46 days.We explore the domestic violence that led up to the killing, the psychology ofpoisoning, the extended deception, and what the sentencing tells us aboutintimate partner homicide in South Africa.Featuring forensic psychologist Professor GérardLabuschagne, who prepared the pre-sentencing risk report.Support the show: Subscribe, rate it, or Buy Me a Coffee:buymeacoffee.com/profilerafricaEmail: profilerafricainfo@gmail.comWebsite: plotshift.co.za#ProfilerAfrica #TrueCrimeSA #EldoradoPark#ForensicPsychology #SouthAfricaCrime #Poisoning #GerardLabuschagne#CaseBreakdown #ProfilerAfrica #TrueCrimeSA #EldoradoPark#IntimatePartnerViolence #SouthAfricaCrime #PoisoningCase

For over a decade, Gerhard Ackerman operated in plain sight — grooming, abusing, and trafficking young boys under the guise of mentorship and massage therapy.In this unflinching episode of Profiler Africa, Prof Gerard Labuschagne and Paul Llewellyn dissect the psychology behind one of South Africa’s most disturbing child-sex networks.They break down how a trusted man built a hidden empire of exploitation — and how systemic failures let it thrive for years.Inside this episode:

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 calmThe emotional and ethical pressure of working where death never stopsWhy good science depends on good systems — and good peopleIt’s raw, intelligent, and unforgettable — a story of death, dignity, and discovery.

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 behind the scenes:

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 disturbing serial murder cases.They explore:

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 for suicide or murder, these cases present unique challenges for investigators and forensic psychologists.Gerard takes us inside this hidden phenomenon: what it is, how it happens, why it matters legally, and what myths need debunking.In this episode:• Definition & Scope — what autoerotic fatality is and how it differs from suicide.• The Psychology — the role of asphyxophilia and oxygen deprivation in arousal.• Methods & MO — from ligatures to electrocution and immersion.• Legal Implications — why classification matters for families, insurers, and investigators.• Myths vs Reality — who the victims really are.•

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 for suicide or murder, these cases present unique challenges for investigators and forensic psychologists.Gerard takes us inside this hidden phenomenon: what it is, how it happens, why it matters legally, and what myths need debunking.In this episode:• Definition & Scope — what autoerotic fatality is and how it differs from suicide.• The Psychology — the role of asphyxophilia and oxygen deprivation in arousal.• Methods & MO — from ligatures to electrocution and immersion.• Legal Implications — why classification matters for families, insurers, and investigators.• Myths vs Reality — who the victims really are.•

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 myths about psychopaths — not just in criminal settings but also in workplaces and everyday life.In this episode, we look at psychopathy through a New Zealand lens. From lone-actor violence and radicalisation to the rise of “successful” or corporate psychopaths, Dr Brooks and Gerard unpack what makes someone dangerous, how risk is assessed, and whether we can ever truly predict violence before it happens.• Psychopaths in New Zealand — how they show up in both crime and corporate life.• Risk & Threat Assessment — tools used to spot danger before it strikes.• Lone-Actor Violence — what NZ has learned since Christchurch,

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 the chest or neck, often left partially unclothed, and abandoned near the rail corridor. Years later, a 2012 rape case finally linked Vilakazi to the murders through DNA.In this episode:• The Crimes: How three murders in just months terrorised Pretoria.• The Modus Operandi: Vilakazi’s pattern of targeting strangers and leaving bodies exposed.• The Satanist Defence: Why he claimed voices from the “underworld” ordered the killings, and how the court exposed it as malingering.• The DNA Link: How a later rape arrest cracked open the cold cases.• Sentencing: Why experts testified he was a serial murderer who could never be

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 nearly claimed the life of an elderly woman just a week later.Nordskog, who personally analysed the case, explains how investigators uncovered Caruso’s evolving M.O. andexposed the psychology driving his crimes. Gérard provides forensic insight into Hero Syndrome, fire-setter psychology, and why arson cases remain among the most complex to prosecute.In this episode:

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 Woest and Trevor Theys, claimed it was a robbery gone wrong — but the evidence revealed something far darker.In this gripping episode of Profiler Africa, host Paul Llewellyn is joined by South Africa’s leading true crime voice, Nicole Engelbrecht — author of Sizzlers: The Hate Crime That Tore Sea Point Apart. Through Nicole’s meticulous research and rare survivor testimony from Quinton Taylor, we revisit that night, unpack the leader–follower dynamic behind the violence, and confront the uncomfortable questions the case still raises — especially as one of the killers now seeks parole.

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 author, and the ethics of telling stories of tragedy.The discussion shifts to one of South Africa’s most haunting school attacks – the Morné Harmse “Samurai Sword” case – and his controversial release on parole. Nicole shares her in-depth research from Samurai Sword Murder, while Gerard unpacks the failures of risk assessment in South Africa’s parole system.In this episode:Nicole’s journey into true crime and victim-focused storytellingThe parole controversy surrounding Morné HarmseSystemic challenges in South Africa’s parole and justice systemHow the Sizzlers Massacre shaped Nicole’s advocacy

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 assessments to developing tools like ViCLAS for linking violent crimes, Collins has worked with agencies across North America, Europe, and beyond, including the FBI, Interpol, and Europol.In this episode:Forensic Psychiatry in Action – How psychiatry supports investigations, policing, and public safety.Threat Assessment & Hostage Negotiation – Lessons from decades with Toronto Police’s Emergency Task Force.Linkage Systems – The creation of ViCLAS and its role in connecting violent crimes.Global Perspective – Collaborating with elite law enforcement worldwide.Beyond Profiling – Why understanding behavior runs deeper

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 — Madumetja Jack Mogale.In this episode:From con-man prophet to convicted killer, this is the story of The Westonaria Strangler — a case that should have shaken the nation.