A brutal attack shocks a South African city | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website winding around south africa's eastern
cape coastline is marine drive a road that leads to some of the most popular beaches in caberha
known in the 1990s as port elizabeth west of the city marine drive extends into the rural outskirts where buildings
are scarce on one side of the road is the ocean on the other his low sprawling bushland
at 2 30 a.m on sunday december 18 1994 two cars abruptly stopped along this dark and lonely stretch of marine drive
one vehicle in front of the other each driver had slammed on their respective brakes before their
passengers scrambled out to observe what lay before them illuminated by the car's high beams was
a woman covered in dirt and dust lying face down in the middle of the road she was completely naked except for a
denim shirt that was bunched around her stomach a large pool of blood had formed beneath
her head the cause of which soon became clear her neck had been slashed from ear to
ear [Music] just over an hour and a half earlier a yellow renault had pulled into a free
parking space on deer street in caberga's central neighborhood inside the renault was a 27 year old
woman with long dark hair she lived in an apartment a short distance away but as her usual parking
spot right out the front of her building wasn't available she was forced to drive
further on to find another the street was dark and quiet as she turned off her car's engine and
headlights before reaching over to the passenger seat to scoop up a pile of clean laundry
all of a sudden the driver's side door swung open a man leaned into the car and held a
long thin knife to the woman's throat he was in his mid-20s and was skinny and tall with long hair
in a hushed voice he said move over or i'll kill you the woman did as ordered sliding across
to the passenger seat with the laundry bundled in her arms the knife-wielding man followed behind
climbing into the driver's seat and turning the key in the ignition to start up the car
don't worry i don't want to hurt you i just want to use your car for an hour he told the terrified woman
then he asked what's your name susan the woman answered the man gave his own name in response
clinton susan asked to be released explaining that her boyfriend was waiting for her
at home and telling clinton he could take the car without her no clinton replied
i want company i have to find this friend of mine who stole my tv and he owes me money
they drove in silence for several minutes towards main street where the city was still abuzz with nightlife
clinton pulled up near a nightclub named club tonight patrons were spilling out onto the
street where cabs were lined up ready to take them home as clinton stared at the crowd he grew
increasingly irritated eventually he pulled away he proceeded to drive up and down main
street and several other side roads until he finally spotted a man clinton brought the renault to a stop
and the man walked over and clambered into the vehicle's back seat meet my friend susan clinton said before
introducing the man he'd picked up this is tions clinton headed south towards summerstrand an area home to a stretch
of beaches popular with locals and tourists alike all three of the car's occupants sat in
silence as he drove slowly soon they were at the city's outer limits in a seaside town called
northhook the last of the buildings and streetlights gave way to a dark road bordered by trees and shrubs
clinton kept driving until they reached a sizable clearing in the foliage he drove off the road through the
clearing onto some sand that led to the beach clinton kept maneuvering the car until
they were on more solid ground at a site where campfires had previously been burned and rubbish was left scattered
about there were beer cans empty wine cartons and smashed bottles everywhere clinton parked the car then asked susan
how to turn off its lights she switched them off while tianz got out of the back seat to take a walk
around outside as susan and clinton sat alone in the renault she asked him now what
clinton turned to face her and said i thought you would have realised we want sex
susan said she hadn't and clinton asked if she was going to put up a fight susan paused
then replied no after raping susan clinton called tions back to the car then tians raped susan as well
[Music] afterwards clinton remarked if we take you into town now you are going to go to
the police susan insisted that she wouldn't but clinton said he didn't believe her
he forced susan to remove some rings she was wearing and tiens promptly slid them
onto his own fingers the two men then taunted susan telling her that they would leave her in the
isolated area naked and alone one asked what do you think old nick would want us
to do with her the other replied i think he wants us to kill her in a swift movement clinton leapt on top
of susan and began to strangle her [Music] when she begged him not to kill her clinton said sorry while continuing to
choke her [Music] susan lost consciousness and the two men dragged her body from the vehicle onto
the ground below tions asked clinton if she was dead let's find out he replied he began to repeatedly stab susan's
abdomen with the knife he'd threatened her with earlier until part of her small intestine was protruding from the wound
susan let out a slight rasping sound and tians sprang into action using a larger
knife he was carrying to slash at her neck clinton soon pushed his accomplice aside
and took over cutting and slashing at susan's throat over and over until her head was almost severed from her neck
the two men then rummaged through susan's laundry and other personal belongings looking for anything of value
finding little they cared for they tossed most of it over her body then they got into her renault and drove
away the attack marked a murderous shift in an already violent spree that was being
committed by the northwark ripper rapists ten months earlier in february of 1994 a
20-year-old student was sitting in a car observing a pizzeria in caberha's central neighborhood
rachel not her real name had borrowed the car from her mother to drive to the takeaway restaurant as she had a job to
do she worked part-time for another local pizzeria and her employers had tasked her with spying on the rival restaurant
to see how many customers went in and the amount of pizzas they ordered they wanted to know what their
competition's trade was like rachel took out a pen and paper to make a note each time somebody walked inside
she hadn't been there long when a man appeared by the driver's side window he was white skinny and rather tall with
light blonde hair and a thin face in one hand he held a pistol the man yanked open the car door and
demanded rachel move over to the passenger seat terrified she did as she was told
the man took her place behind the wheel and began to drive he took rachel out of the city heading
south and then west along the coastline after about 20 minutes when they reached
the town of northhook the man stopped and parked the car he sexually assaulted rachel then raped
her afterwards he drove her to a nearby roadhouse where he bought her a sandwich
and a rose the men chatted to rachel in an intimate manner as though they were romantically
involved then he raped her again the ordeal lasted about three hours after which the man drove rachel back to
the city as he exited the car he told her that she was an amazing person he hoped she would let him quote
make it up to her sometime then he disappeared into the night rachel managed to get herself back
home but was too scared and traumatized to tell her parents what had happened it would take her a week before she was
able to speak of the abduction and rapes to a friend who encouraged her to go to
the police it didn't take long for investigators to track down rachel's alleged rapist
franz du toi was a truck driver and married father of one with another baby on the way
at 26 years old he had a troubled past and this wasn't his first brush with the law
although rachel was able to identify du toi as her assailant after seeing his mug shot by the time she came forward it
was too late to put together a rape kit dutoy was still charged but because there was no forensic evidence available
and he had a steady job as well as a fixed address where he lived with his wife the laws of the time dictated that
he must be released on bail months later franz du toi struck again on the evening of sunday december 4 1994
21 year old caroline not her real name headed out to go to a corner store when dutoy suddenly appeared out of nowhere
but this time he wasn't alone with him was his neighbour and friend nineteen-year-old tian's kruger
tu toy and kruger threatened caroline with a handgun before abducting and raping her
they taunted the young woman saying they would kill her and to leave her body naked and abandoned
caroline who was pregnant and in her first trimester begged them to let her live and they eventually took off into
the night caroline quickly reported the attack to police franz du toi and tian's kruger were
promptly found and arrested the two seemed entirely unfazed by the charges against them
kruger considered the entire thing to be a big joke and even burst out laughing multiple times throughout the booking
process he and dutoyi both appeared in the magistrates court the following morning
it was so early in the investigation that a specific officer hadn't been assigned to handle the case yet
even though this second attack took place in the same area where dutoy had abducted rachel the two had been
arrested by a different squad and taken to another police station due to this the prosecutor who stood in
the courtroom that day had no idea that dutoy was already out on bail for a previous violent rape
this oversight meant that once again franz du toi was granted bail and so was his younger accomplice
almost two weeks later on saturday december 17 dutoy and kruger were stalking their previous hunting ground
of central in search of another victim both men were buzzing after spending the afternoon getting through nine bottles
of beer and a two and a half litre bottle of sherry by the afternoon their thoughts had
turned once again to finding a woman to harm specifically they sought a victim who
was driving a nice car so they could steal it afterwards at around 12 30 pm they spotted a woman
who was in the process of parking her car the two men approached the vehicle and
dutoy attempted to pull open the driver's side door but he glanced away for a split second
and the woman quickly managed to lock herself in after realizing they wouldn't be able to
abduct her dutoy and kruger ran from the scene for hours they paced the city on the
lookout for another target when they couldn't find any krueger grew impatient and annoyed
he told dutoy that he was going to head to a nightclub if dutoy managed to capture a suitable
woman he should come and find him later [Music] undeterred dutoy continued walking the
streets his eyes peeled for a woman alone in a vehicle at around 1am he headed along deer
street a quiet side road that ran through central and was dotted with apartment buildings
suddenly he spotted a small yellow renault pulling into a free parking space dutoy recognized the young woman driving
he didn't know her name but he had seen her many times before as he stalked the neighborhood parking that same car and
walking into a nearby apartment her vehicle was old and not what he'd been hoping for
du toi wanted to drive his victim back to nordhouk the same isolated location where he'd attacked rachel earlier in
the year nortok was a fair distance out of the city and the renault looked as though it
could break down at any moment still dutoy decided to strike he made his way over to the renault
through the darkness the street lamps were easy enough to avoid and numerous parked cars along the
street provided cover duty reached the renault's driver's side door just as the woman cut the engine
and turned off the car's lights duty yanked open the driver's side door this time he was carrying a knife
forcing his captive to slide over into the passenger seat tu toi got behind the wheel and drove off
he introduced himself using the fake name clinton and she said her name was susan
dutoy headed to the nightclub that tian's kruger had intended to visit and eventually found him on a side street
susan was driven out into the rural outskirts where both dutoy and kruger raped her
afterwards the pair emboldened each other to take the next step in their violent spree
they took turns stabbing susan before cutting her throat multiple times to the point of near decapitation
they drove back to the city in susan's renault neither spoke throughout the entire
journey and dutoy threw his knife into some bushes kruger kept his knife they abandoned the renault around the
corner from duty's apartment then headed home to drink more beer and get some sleep
the toy and kruger woke at around 11am excited by the thought that they'd committed murder
they wanted to claim another victim soon but this time they would carry out their
plot slightly differently they would abduct and kill a woman then throw her body off a bridge that dutoy
was familiar with the pair chatted as they prepared their breakfast kruger used the same knife he had cut
susan's throat with to butter his bread some of susan's blood was still visible on the blade which kruger pointed out
gleefully yet their plans were interrupted the following day at around five am there
was a loud pounding on the front door of duty's apartment he and kruger were both inside sleeping
when they answered the knocking they saw two police officers standing outside the officers made no mention of susan or
her murder instead telling the pair they wanted to question them about a recent rape
a confident dutoy and kruger went without struggle duty and kruger were placed into
separate holding cells at the police headquarters and some time later melvin humpel a senior investigating officer
arrived to interview them he decided to speak with tian's kruger first and escorted the younger suspect
to his office humple asked kruger to take a seat he appeared completely disinterested
when the officer read him his rights then humple informed kruger that he was being investigated on two different
charges one of rape and one of attempted murder surprised kruger glanced up at the
officer as he processed what he was saying and asked attempted murder why attempted murder
i have news for you melvin humple replied your last victim survived she's talking
and remembers everything [Music] case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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at around 2 30 a.m on sunday december 18 tian eilard drove his combivan along marine drive following behind his
friend's bmw the two carloads of france had just wrapped up a beach holiday with a visit
to a nightclub and were heading back to the caravan park where they were camping
suddenly tian's friend up ahead hit the brakes and came to a stop then he flicked on his car's hazard
lights as tian slowed behind him he wondered what had caused his friend to stop in
the middle of the road perhaps there was an injured pedestrian or animal up ahead
some of tian's friends in the bmw got out and looked at something on the road in front of their car
one of them began screaming in terror and ran over to tian's vehicle she told him that someone was hurt on
the ground and tayan needed to help as a veterinary science student tian had some knowledge of anatomy and medicine
he jumped out and ran over to the spot his friend indicated the bmw's headlights had cast a
spotlight on a disheveled woman lying on the road naked except for a denim shirt
pressed to her abdomen her head was facing away from them and blood had pulled beneath it
tian could hear the woman breathing in heavy gasps tian knelt beside the woman and took her
hand it wasn't until he was facing her that he saw the huge wound around the base of
her neck near the bone it was so deep and so wide that tian could see the muscles and veins inside
tian made eye contact with the woman who looked terrified he spoke to her in soothing
tones as he checked her pulse and removed his shirt then used it to apply gentle pressure to her neck wound
her thyroid had also been cut in two and part of it was sticking out tian tucked it back inside the wound to
keep it moist the entire time he chatted with the woman encouraging her to stay conscious
asking her what had happened and reassuring her that help was on the way she was unable to speak so she
communicated with tian by squeezing his hand even though it was 1994 one of tian's
friends had a mobile phone and was able to call for an ambulance it took more than two hours for it to
finally arrive doctors and nurses at the hospital were alarmed to see the state that the woman
was in she had received more than 30 stab wounds to the abdomen and her throat was
slashed 17 times all of the main veins in her neck had been cut along with the trachea thyroid
and anterior muscles but she had survived because her attackers missed her main arteries
her aorta and larynx were also undamaged which was how she was still able to breathe
extreme blood loss had put her in a state of shock that prevented her from feeling any pain
despite her life-threatening injuries she remained conscious and was even able to sign an intake form
her name was alison and she was 27 years old alison even managed to write down her
mother's phone number so she could be contacted a doctor performed emergency surgery
reconnecting alison's muscles and stitching her neck back together the wound to her abdomen had resulted in
her entire small intestine becoming exposed this organ had to be carefully and meticulously cleaned in saline solution
as dirt leaves and sand that had collected on it could cause infection the doctor then stitched up cuts that
the organ had received before putting it back inside alison and closing up her second wound
by 8 35 am on sunday december 18 seven and a half hours after alison was abducted her surgery was complete
the fact that alison had survived her devastating injuries amazed hospital staff and law enforcement
but her incredible story of survival was shocking alison told police of her abduction at
knifepoint as she sat in her car a short distance away from her apartment she briefly considered opening the door
and leaping out but felt frozen in place her abductor introduced himself as clinton
not wanting to tell him her real name alison told him she was called susan she also said that she had a boyfriend
at home waiting for her but this was a lie she hoped would compel her abductor to release her
instead he drove her into the city and also picked up a younger man named tianz he seemed angrier and more
volatile than his older accomplice still alison was willing to believe the man just wanted the car
when clinton announced that the pair intended to rape alison she knew her best chance of survival lay in not
putting up a fight throughout the ordeal alison repeatedly told herself he's doing this to your body but not to
you he can't touch you at one stage tianz referred to clinton as franz which alison realized must be
his real name they also mentioned another person old nick but allison knew that was a
nickname for satan she made a mental note to remember her attackers names while simultaneously
reassuring them that she wouldn't go to the police franz and tianz didn't believe her
france launched himself on alison and began strangling her she begged him not to kill her and he
apologized but continued then everything went dark alison lost consciousness the next thing she knew she was lying on
the ground france stood over her his arm moving back and forth as he repeatedly cut her
neck alison felt nothing but could hear the sound of the knife meeting her skin eventually france stopped and walked
away alison could hear him talking in a low voice with his accomplice despite the violent attack she'd endured
alison felt extremely alert and aware of everything going on around her when she heard a strange grumbling noise
she soon realised it was coming from her own throat it was the sound of her breathing
through her wound unable to control her breath she stuck her hand inside the injury to muffle the
noise and prevent franz and tijuans from realizing she was still alive do you think she's dead one of the men
asked no one can survive that said the other confidently then they got into her car and drove
away convinced that she would die alison was determined to leave a final message
behind she used a finger to write the names france and tians in the sand beneath that she traced the words i love
mum alison then began to feel as though she were floating out of her own body and
hovering above it she could look down and see herself crumpled and bleeding on the ground but
she felt light and peaceful despite what had been done to her alison felt a soothing presence and knew she
was being asked a crucial question did she want to return to her body and fight realising there was still so much she
wanted to do with her life alison knew that she did a moment later she was back in her body
alison forced herself up onto her hands and knees feeling something wet and slippery on
her abdomen she looked down and realized that she had been stabbed there as well
some of her intestines had fallen out of the wound alison couldn't hold them in as they
kept slipping out of her arms so she found a denim shirt that her attackers had thrown on the ground
alison wrapped the shirt around her intestines and held it against her body slowly she began to crawl along the
ground towards the road they had driven in from alison still felt no pain her knees and hands suffered cuts from
the broken glass on the ground and her head felt wobbly and unstable due to the repeated cuts to her neck
after crawling about 15 meters into a clearing alison collapsed driven by the thought of how devastated
her loved ones would be if she died she forced herself to keep moving alison tried to stand realizing that
walking would be faster than crawling but when she did the gaping wound to her neck caused her head to tip backwards
until it nearly touched her shoulder blades with one hand still clutching the shirt
to her abdomen she used the other hand to pull her head forwards then she began walking
sometimes she tripped over but she would always force herself up again alison stumbled through the bush and
vegetation until she finally spotted marine drive the wide road they had driven in from
she found a spot in the middle of the road where she would be visible to any passing motorists and to lay down there
after a little while she heard a car approaching though she couldn't see it as her face was turned the other way
as it drew nearer to allison it slowed down to a stop its headlights shining brightly on her
alison waved urgently but no one got out of the vehicle after what felt like a long time the car
was put in to drive again and swerved around allison's body before continuing on and disappearing into the darkness
alison felt as though she had just lost her last chance of survival until tian eilard and his friends
happened upon her as they drove along marine drive towards the caravan park where they were staying
when news of the attack and alison's seemingly miraculous survival made newspaper headlines flowers and gifts
flooded in from all over south africa police sprang into action upon being notified of the rape and attempted
murder nadia swanepoel was a young officer familiar with franz du toi and tianz kruger and knew the two were out on bail
for raping another young woman just two weeks earlier suspecting that du toi and his younger
accomplice could be behind alison's attack officer swanepoel headed to the hospital on sunday december 18 armed
with a photo album full of mug shots she flicked through the pages showing alison hundreds of different photographs
of various suspects when officer swanepoel reached one particular page alison's eyes were
immediately drawn to a headshot near the bottom she recognised the man featured instantly
it was franz du toy the following morning at 5 00 am officer swanepoel and her partner arrested both
men at dutoy's apartment once dutoy and kruger were in custody senior investigating officer melvin
humple was called upon to interrogate them he decided to speak to nineteen-year-old
kruger first the two sat in melvin humpel's office kruger looked bored as the detective
read him his rights but his demeanor changed entirely when he heard that alison had survived and
remembered everything visibly terrified he said oh [ __ ] then it won't even help if i lie
kruger pulled some rings he was wearing off his fingers dropped them on the detective's desk and stated
there here are her rings then he began to talk tian's kruger's life had always been
difficult he was raised by his mother and his abusive stepfather in the town of sundrift
as a child kruger often ran away from his troubled home and sought solace in the town's black community which was
kind to him south africa was still under apartheid at the time and some of the local white
residents were angry at kruger for mixing with the black population he was ostracized by them as a result
kruger eventually left school to join the army he later said that in 1993 while completing his national service he was
called to deal with a riot krueger claimed that when a woman involved in the riots swore at the
police he'd responded by shooting her in the head in 1994 kruger began working as a
security guard and moved in with his aunt in caberha he said he was disappointed that he
hadn't died during his army service as one of his friends had and during a botched suicide attempt he accidentally
shot himself in the foot with a rifle it was while he was recovering from this injury that he met franz du toi
du toy's life was one with little direction or purpose like kruger he had served in the
military during his youth and spent a year and a half fighting on the country's border with namibia which was
then under south african administration after dutoy's service was up his father who was a policeman found him a job at a
mine duty only worked there briefly before moving on again by the 1990s dutoy was living a
transient lifestyle moving from city to city and working menial jobs he wound up in caberha where he married
his second wife in 1993 she was in the early stages of pregnancy when du toi abducted and raped rachel in
february of 1994. four months later dutoyi met tianz kruger when the teenager started
purchasing booze from an unlicensed venue to toy ran soon they were drinking together
regularly and bonding over common ground as kruger confided into toy about his struggles du toi offered his young
friend an alternative path he claimed that although he had been raised by parents who devoutly practiced
christianity he had discovered another faith during his adolescence it all started when he fell into a quote
bad crowd kids who he said were cannabis smoking hippies and surfers then duty started listening to heavy
metal music which he would later say held subliminal messages when he burnt down a building he blamed
his actions on the messages he'd absorbed through the music this incident led to detoi's expulsion
from school and he was soon enrolled in another one one day he was sitting on a train when
he met a young woman who also attended his new school supposedly she was the head witch of a
local coven and dutoy believed she had supernatural powers he insisted that he had witnessed her
channel demons and that as they spoke through her her voice changed from being feminine to one that was deep and
masculine du toi said he began to put faith in the supposed demons du toi introduced tian's kruger to his
beliefs telling him he was part of a notorious satanist group that met regularly under a nearby bridge
this bridge was infamous in kabehar as a place where people would go to take their own lives
when du toi told kruger about the power of demons kruger said that he would like
some of that power for himself duty then nicknamed his younger companion damien a nod to the antagonist
in the film the omen who is characterized as the son of satan the pair began heading out on midnight
trips to visit saint mary's cemetery the city's oldest graveyard they would steal statues from graves and
burn black candles often while drunk and high sometimes they were joined by others
on one occasion kruger was teased by the rest of the group who said he would never desecrate a grave
he responded by taking a hammer and smashing a headstone while swearing at the person who was buried below
kruger despised most other people he had no respect for anyone especially those who tried to quote
force religion down my throat he soared escape through drugs and alcohol and took to walking the streets
late at night as a way to calm down duty joined him one night in early december and the pair carried out their
first rape together kruger would later say that he felt nothing throughout this entire attack
duty initially intended to make good on his threat to murder the woman but he's urged to kill a baited after he raped
her two weeks later he wouldn't be as merciful towards alison tian's kruger gave a detailed confession
about the attack he and his accomplice had inflicted on alison when it was franz du tois turn to be
interviewed he was similarly stunned to learn that alison was alive that's impossible
she couldn't have survived he said a moment later he spoke in a calm voice well then i have to tell the whole truth
his confession confirmed everything that kruger had admitted to neither man showed any sign of remorse
they were charged for alison's rape and attempted murder this time they didn't receive bail
friends of allison's including her boss and some ex-boyfriends gathered at the magistrates court to be present for the
men's first appearance they shouted abuse as dutoy and kruger were led back to their cells and one
newspaper later reported that du toi had looked terrified during the altercation
the south african public was outraged by the horrific case the country's rate of sexual violence
ranked as one of the highest in the world but rarely did a victim's ordeal become so public
the brutal nature of alison's injuries and her survival against all the odds meant that her story made headlines
across the nation journalists rang alison and her mother constantly hoping for an
interview police discouraged alison from going public in case it compromised the
case but she was eager to speak out eventually once alison was well enough to return home she was permitted to give
one reporter from the eastern province herald a brief interview about her ongoing recovery
she also wrote an open letter that was published in the paper in it allison thanked everyone who had
helped her for their care and support quote each one who sent flowers gifts cards
wishes thoughts prayers and love should know how they brought a smile to my face
and an added warmth to my heart i have life beautiful people you have my heart alison's father also wrote a letter to
the editor of the eastern province herald which was published in full on the paper's front page
he was devastated by what had happened to his daughter and he openly criticized the country's bail laws that had allowed
two violent predators to walk free and attack further victims before the trial against france du toi
and tianz kruger could proceed to court allison was required to identify them both in person
because the city's small police station did not have a room with a one-way mirror alison was told she would have to
enter the room where the lineup was taking place and identify her attackers by placing her hand on their shoulders
the thought of having to do this terrified alison she refused to take part under those
guidelines and so a compromise was struck the lineup would take place in one of the station's smaller offices
which had a one-way petition allison would still have to stand in the same room as her attackers but she would
be partly hidden from them and wouldn't have to touch them on friday march 3 1995
almost three months after the attack alison made her way to the police station she immediately picked out duty and
kruger from a row of fourteen men although both men had agreed to plead guilty there would still be a trial with
extensive witness testimony to determine their sentences the men's police statements made their
way to the media and the fact that they blamed satanism for leading them to commit their crimes had already been
splashed across tabloid newspapers the press dubbed them the nautil gripper rapists after the isolated location
where they attacked allison and another victim one week before proceedings began france
du toi called a press conference at police headquarters despite still being held on remand
the conference was allowed to go forward and duty told attending journalists how
he was officially renouncing his satanic beliefs he blamed his criminal behavior on
demonic possession and said he would undergo an exorcism prior to the trial this announcement was treated as a
publicity stunt by most people including de toy's victims the trial began on monday june 12 1995.
the woman who the men had tried to abduct almost 12 hours before they took allison gave evidence as did all three
women who had been raped by them the second victim caroline had been in the early stages of pregnancy when she
was attacked on december 4 1994 and was almost at full term as she spoke in court
duty and kruger both testified in their own defense they told the court of their troubled
backgrounds and how they came to practice what they called satanism tu tui claimed that since he was 15 he'd
been possessed by a demon called incubus which made him irresistible to women he blamed incubus for the rapes he had
committed detoi's wife natalie was standing by her husband and attended court to support
him he attributed her loyalty to a spell he had cast asking that she would never
have the power to leave him in 1992 the south african police service had established an occult related crimes
unit due to the satanic panic that was then sweeping the country the satanic panic was a moral panic that
spread around the world during the late 20th century but was particularly influential in south africa where belief
in the occult was strong an officer from the occult related crimes unit spoke at the trial refuting
detoi's claims of demonic possession he said to toy's clear recollection of his crimes meant he was entirely in
control of his own actions the officer also claimed that if du toi had been possessed he would have raped
his wife as well but he hadn't while dutoy seemed to enjoy the limelight and his newfound notoriety
tian's kruger was quieter a clinical psychologist who had examined kruger determined that the 19 year old
had borderline personality disorder and suffered from extremely low self-esteem franz du toi and tian's kruger were
ultimately convicted of two counts of rape two charges of indecent assault two counts of abduction attempted murder and
theft during sentencing the judge dismissed dutoy's claims of demonic possession
and sentenced him to three terms of life imprisonment kruger was given one count of life
imprisonment for the crimes against allison plus 25 years for the second rape the judge made it clear that while
kruger may have been influenced by his older accomplice he still exhibited disturbing bloodlust
the judge concluded with one final decree quote i also make the following order it must be clear that if at any time in
the future there is any consideration for parole it was my intention that these two men be removed from society
for the rest of their natural lives and that they should spend it behind bars cheers echoed through the courtroom in
response to the judge's words as dutoy and kruger were being escorted out kruger slammed his hand
against the wall and shouted here we go [ __ ] you all with both men convicted and sentenced
alison was free to speak publicly about her ordeal she was eager to do so in the hopes that
her words might inspire other women who had been raped to come forward allison knew that many rape survivors
were left with a feeling of shame and wanted to make it clear that they had nothing to be ashamed of
alison gave an exclusive interview to a magazine titled you and also spoke on air with a local radio presenter
when the male presenter told her he felt honored to speak with a rape survivor as
he had never done so before alison responded you don't know that so many women are silent about it
[Music] at the same time that she was publicly advocating for survivors of rape alison
was also going through a grueling recovery even as her physical wounds began to heal she was left with significant
scarring that required reconstructive and plastic surgery too scared to return to the apartment
where she'd been living at the time of the attack alison moved to a new one in a more secure complex
she also struggled with focusing at work and soon sank into a deep depression [Music]
one day alison received an invitation to give a talk about her experiences at a rotary club
although public speaking made her nervous she decided to accept the offer to her surprise the talk went well
soon she was accepting more opportunities to speak at other events alison found that speaking publicly
about her attack helped her come to terms with it because she had to tell audiences what
she had learnt through it all she began to reflect more deeply on how she had survived
encouraged by the positive feedback she received from those who attended her talks alison eventually embarked on a
career as a motivational speaker she won multiple awards for her bravery and would wind up traveling all over the
world to share her story when she married she took her husband's surname of berta and became known by
this name in the media alison also worked with author marianne tam to write a book about her
experiences it was published in 1998 under the title i have life in 2011 new legislation came into force
in south africa which meant all prisoners who had been given life sentences prior to 2004 could apply for
parole providing they had already served at least thirteen years and four months
franz du toi and tianz kruger both fell under this category the two applied for parole
kruger appeared before his prison's parole board in december 2011 and was said to have boasted to fellow inmates
that he would soon be free dutoy had his hearing the following month authorities did not notify allison or
the pair's other victims of this development and they were left to learn about the man's possible release via the
media alison was devastated she believed that the judge's order at sentencing meant her attackers would
never be freed to her relief neither man was given parole but they were still permitted to
reapply for it every two years in august of 2015 alison who was now 47 years old received a strange email from
an american woman named joyce she was getting in touch with alison because she was worried about her
daughter sabrina who was 34. according to joyce sabrina was engaged to franz du toy now aged 46 and wanted
to travel to south africa to help him with his next parole application the pair had met via facebook and
communicated entirely online sabrina hadn't initially known that du toi was in prison
when he told her what he was serving time for dutoy admitted to being a rapist but claimed he had no part in
trying to kill alison that attack was entirely the fault of his accomplice tianz kruger
he also said that the prison authorities were pleased with his progress and believed he was a changed man
when sabrina's mother joyce found out about the relationship she contacted south africa's department of
correctional services but received no response so she decided to reach out to detoi's
soul-named victim alison werter joyce attached page after page of correspondence between sabrina and de
toy which she'd obtained from her daughter's facebook account in his writings to sabrina tutori
claimed that he'd organised for a woman to be raped after she accused him of killing her father
he'd also had another woman gang raped by some men he called his boys duty said he'd done all of this from
behind bars he made threats against people he wanted to harm when he was released and asked
sabrina for money tu toi also bragged about how he'd bribed prison officials into letting him
have access to mobile phones alison was horrified and couldn't believe du toi was being allowed access
to social media she emailed a complaint to prison authorities who in turn forwarded it to
detoi angered by the lack of regard being shown for her personal safety alison went to the media for help
despite articles being published in the magazine u and other publications du toi
was still allowed to maintain multiple facebook accounts when franz du toy heard that a south
african film director named ugga carlini was making a featured documentary about
the attack against allison and her survival he reached out and offered to be interviewed
but he made it clear that he had some conditions first he wanted a signed letter from
alison berta saying that she had forgiven him and second he demanded a backdated share of the prophets from
allison's motivational speaking career and book sales as he said she owed all of her success to his actions
olga carlini refused the toy's request her documentary titled alison was released in 2016.
alison buerta's life wasn't the only one changed by what happened to her on december 17 1994
tian eilard the man who helped save alison by providing first aid was so affected by the incident that he decided
to become a doctor instead of a vet he and alison have remained close throughout the years and in november
2006 when alison gave birth to her second child tian assisted with the delivery becoming a mother felt like a miracle to
alison she was worried that she would never be able to have children due to the injuries she sustained during the attack
but she now has two sons after alison berta's two attackers were convicted she was given a small
cardboard box filled with evidence that police had gathered from the crime scene
it contained her clothing and other personal belongings that had been dumped on the ground
for a long time allison kept the box at the back of a cupboard and refused to look inside
but a few years later while working on her book with author marianne tam she decided to do something with it
as described in the book i have life alison marian and alison's husband took the box back to the location where
alison was almost killed they went late at night so that the area looked exactly as alison remembered it
she removed the blood-stained garments and other items then piled them on the ground
with her husband's help alison set fire to the belongings as she watched them burn and then
eventually saw the flames die out alison felt a sense of relief [Music] [Music] you

Case 213: The Noordhoek 'Ripper Rapists'

It was around 2:30 am on Sunday, December 18 1994, when a group of friends stumbled across the bloody and brutalised body of a young woman, lying in the middle of a road in Gqeberha, South Africa. She was the latest victim of Frans Du Toit and Theuns Kruger; two men who the press would come to dub The Noordhoek ‘Ripper Rapists’...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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RESOURCES

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Brief Summary

Alison Berta survives a brutal attack by rapists du Toit and Kruger, leading to their arrest and conviction.

Key points

The Abduction of Susan. A woman is abducted at knife point while parking her car, leading to a horrific crime.
The Murder of Susan. The brutal murder of Susan marks a violent shift in the Northwark Ripper's spree.
Rachel's Ordeal. Rachel is abducted and raped, leading to a traumatic experience that she struggles to report.
Alison's Miraculous Survival. Despite over 30 stab wounds, Alison's survival story shocked hospital staff and law enforcement.
Alison's Brave Confession. Alison bravely identified her attackers in a police lineup, despite her fears.
Demonic Possession Claims. Detoi claimed demonic possession as a defense for his actions, but the court dismissed it.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I thought you would have realised we want sex.

Clinton's chilling admission to Susan.

6:33WatchMay 28, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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