Profiler: True Crime Africa

• Inside the Mind of the Lone Actor: with New Zealand's Top Profiler

  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, and what risks remain.• Corporate Psychopaths — why some thrive in boardrooms rather than behind bars.• Myths vs Reality — what people get wrong about psychopathy, and what the science actually shows.📩 Questions or sponsorships: [email protected]🌍 Website: plotshiftcrime.co.za#ProfilerAfrica #Psychopathy #NewZealand #GerardLabuschagne #NathanBrooks #ForensicPsychology #ThreatAssessment #CorporatePsychopaths #ViolencePrevention #PlotShiftCrimeIn this episode:

  --------  

  1:19:07

  --------

  1:19:07
• The Pretoria Railway Killer: Satan, DNA & Serial Murder

  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 rehabilitated.This is a chilling story of delusion, manipulation, and cold-blooded violence — and a reminder of how DNA and persistence finally caught the Railway Killer.📩 Questions or sponsorships: [email protected]🌍 Website: plotshift.co.za

  --------  

  1:07:28

  --------

  1:07:28
• Profiler Africa: Serial Arsonist Justin Caruso – Fires, Fatalities & the Hero Syndrome

  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:🔥The fatal Mesa fire and its investigation.🔥How fires in Arizona, Texas, and Massachusetts were linked.🔥The psychology of fire-setters and Hero Syndrome.🔥Why this case became the IAAI’s International Case of the Year.📩 Questions, comments, or sponsorships: [email protected]🌍More: plotshift.co.zaFor more information on guest Ed Nordskog visit: www.arsonprofiler.com

  --------  

  1:34:46

  --------

  1:34:46
• Mother City Massacre: The Sizzlers Story. An Interview with survivor Quinton Taylor

  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.🎧 Listen Now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts📚 Read the Book: Sizzlers: The Hate Crime That Tore Sea Point Apart by Nicole Engelbrecht🎙 Nicole’s Podcast: True Crime South Africa — available wherever you get your podcasts🔗 Support Profiler AfricaPatreon: patreon.com/profilerafricaBuy Me a Coffee: coff.ee/profiler📲 Connect with UsInstagram, Facebook & X: @ProfilerAfricaEmail: [email protected]💡 Don’t miss an episode — follow & subscribe now, and remember… trust nobody.

  --------  

  1:30:42

  --------

  1:30:42
• SA's Queen of True Crime: Nicole Engelbrecht & Gerard Labuschagne on Justice and 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🎧 Part 2 next week: A deep dive into the Sizzlers Massacre.For questions or sponsorships: [email protected]: plotshift.co.za

  --------  

  1:18:26

  --------

  1:18:26

More True Crime podcasts

Trending True Crime podcasts

About Profiler: True Crime Africa

Profiler: True Crime Africa: Podcasts in Family