Original subtitles

Have a feeling you're about to tell me I'm destined for greater things.

Police are looking. They need someone like you.

For what?

There's a task team looking into

those killing fields in Mitchell's Plain.

They need a forensic profiler.

They don't have profilers in this country.

You'll be the first.

"There is no such thing as a person, who, at the age of 35,

"suddenly changes from perfectly normal to totally evil."

FBI criminologist, Robert Ressler.

He's interviewed hundreds of killers in his career.

So I trust when he says killers are created.

I should hate the men who do these terrible things.

But I can't.

What does that say about me?

It says you understand them.

Maybe that can be your superpower - if you let it.

(KNOCKING)

(SCREAMING)

(GRUNTING)

Here we go.

Is that the only bottle?

It's the only decent bottle I've got.

Thanks for letting me stay, Suze.

Honestly, I didn't think packing up the house would be so brutal.

It's not totally awful having you back.

Are you sure you're going to be OK in the guest room by yourself?

I've gotten used to it.

I'm going to check if your room's all set.

Thank you.

Are you looking for Loubser

or just some good old-fashioned witchcraft?

I'm... I'm looking for Brigadier Brink.

Petrus Brink at your service.

Dr Micki Pistorius.

Ah, you must be the profiler I've been hearing so much about.

Yeah.

Not my office.

It's Colonel Loubser's chamber of horrors.

Um, let's go next door.

There's a little bit more fresh air than in this place.

I heard what you did with the Strangler.

Caused quite a stir.

Hm. Maybe not the good kind.

The guys in the force need a shake-up every now and then.

Thank you.

Um. Brigadier, I really appreciate you

bringing me in on the Strangler case, but I'm...

Uh... Brixton Unit...

..discovered a body just over an hour ago

on the Cleveland mine dumps.

I've heard of those. It's eight so far, right?

And there'll be more.

And the minister's breathing down my neck for an arrest.

We have 43 leads on this case

and you get to tell us who the lucky winner is.

And there's more.

Delmas Police arrested a young male.

Goes by the name of Warren Barnes.

He's white.

He has connections to a neo-Nazi group.

Is this hate crimes?

Uh, he's a right-wing Afrikaner.

Three black victims.

The investigation had him cornered, but now he claims that...

..he cannot remember that he owned up.

Convenient.

So, the state will need you to testify about his mental health.

The full interview, assessment of capacity, all that.

Wait...

Sorry, what are we doing here?

We're moving you wherever you're needed.

And you will be needed everywhere.

You must tell me what I can do for you that can make this work.

A specialised unit would be good.

A unit?

Yeah. A dedicated psychology unit.

Um. A staff...maybe five.

We could serve all the running cases in the province

and build it out as the cases come in.

Now...

How about one more person to start with?

Yeah. Um...

One more would be...better.

Her name is Erika. She's been briefed.

She'll meet with you later.

OK.

Hey, hey, hey, hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Step back.

Step away, please. You can't be here.

Captain Micki Pistorius. Brigadier Brink sent me.

Oh. You from National?

Investigative Psychology.

What are they bringing me a psychologist for?

The brigadier thought it would be good for me

to get an eye on the scene.

I have an eye on it. My eye.

I need to collect evidence for my profile -

that doesn't need to interfere with what...

Charles, get this lovely lady off my crime scene, please.

Sorry. Sergeant. Look. You have a lot to sift through.

I can help you understand what you're looking for.

Dead people don't need psychologists.

Look, I don't mean to be rude,

but I have no idea at all how you think you can help here.

Well, I'm here for the ones that are still alive.

Sarge. I've got to show you something.

So, she was dumped out here in the open.

When we turned her over, we found this.

"She is a beach.

"And we must stay here as long as you don't understand."

None of the other bodies had it.

Some sort of message to us?

Or to the victim.

What's that?

That's just trash. This used to be a landfill site.

Yeah, or evidence.

We'll let Forensics decide.

OK. It's a pad on a crime scene next to a woman's dead body.

It could have been hers. We could use it to ID her.

I'm going to bag it anyway, just in case.

Let's get Forensics down here.

Clear this fucking body now.

Yes, sir.

So, the crime scenes are here, here and here.

All within walking distance of each other.

OK. So, he knows the lay of the land.

The police remove a body, he puts another one in its place.

He's replenishing the spot.

He's what?!

Uh, like he's restocking it.

He's marking his territory.

Like a dog pissing on a lamppost. Yeah.

Yeah. He's saying, "This is my place. Mine."

OK.

So, have you got to be somewhere else?

Interviewing a suspect in another case in a few hours.

OK.

She has a beach, back of right thigh.

Then the other thigh, more writing.

"We must stay here for as long as you don't understand."

What do you think it means?

Well, it's probably a misspelling of bitch, right?

Yes. Maybe he's not that literate.

No, but I think he's intelligent, so that doesn't fit.

There's a contradiction here.

Either way, there's deep anger in his words.

And he's chosen to express that by writing it on her body.

Which suggests he couldn't express his anger to her directly.

That he struggles to convey his true feelings.

Angry at her. Well, shit, he strangled her, so, yeah.

But is it anger at THIS woman in particular or...

You know, some woman? Maybe she rejected it.

Or maybe someone else did and Josephine's a stand-in.

No, something's off here.

Not all of them are naked.

But all of them were raped

and strangled with a piece of their own clothing.

Yeah.

Yeah, but why remove the jewellery of this one,

Thea, and not any of the others?

Sometimes there are head wounds, sometimes there aren't.

He's smart enough to lure them in, but he can't spell bitch.

It feels like we're dealing with two different killers.

Two MOs.

OK. Josephine, Thea, Sthando.

These three are all from Pretoria, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

OK. And all their bodies were found in Joburg?

Correct. OK.

So, he drives.

Either he drives them alive...

It's an hour from Pretoria to Joburg, right?

Yeah. So, they must trust him enough to get in the car.

Or he kills them first, takes them to graveyards later.

So, we're looking for a man that has dead bodies in his trunk.

Or a man that gives lifts to women as his MO.

Yeah, and we need to find him, because what he says here

tells us he won't stop until we do.

We don't have enough resources

to go after 43 different suspects all over the country.

So, I need you to narrow this down for us.

43? Let's get to work.

Let's give her everything she needs.

Cigarette, please. Thank you.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Cover me with Thy precious blood.

And fill me with Thy Holy Spirit.

Ah! Ah! Ah!

I love Thee, Lord Jesus.

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

I praise Thee, Lord Jesus.

Argh!

I thank Thee, Jesus.

Amen.

Anything? Um...

Well, I think I've got a top three.

Thato Sikwane, Ernest Mapinga, David Selepe.

Who seems like the most likely?

Well, Sikwane's a college lecturer.

A female student claimed he harassed her,

made sexual remarks.

Attempted rape, but she got away.

Sounds about right. Yeah.

No. The career and the personality seem right,

but the approach seems hostile.

A better fit is Mapinga.

Local businessmen, sophisticated, clean-cut.

A neighbour said he offered her a lift home

and then tried to force his way into her house.

What about him?

Uh... David Selepe?

Occupation unknown.

Witness described him as well-liked in the community.

Suave. Charming. Also a little arrogant.

Our witness reported he offered her a job a few months ago.

She hesitated. He became verbally abusive.

She feared for her life and called in the tip-off.

So, who do we follow up on?

What?

I don't guess.

I need more time to look into all of them in more detail.

OK. Don't take it, please.

Detective Charles.

Dr Pistorius?

A long distance for you.

Just pass it here. It's fine.

Hi, this is Micki.

An ego-dystonic killer.

Smart deduction.

Who is this?

Robert Ressler.

How did you settle on that conclusion with so few details?

Sorry. Is this a prank?

Maybe I should turn down the accent, huh?

It is a little ham.

Um. Can you pass me...?

Hi...

Hello? Mr Ressler. Hi.

Sorry... What an honour.

How did you...? Find you?

It's a small field.

And you faxed me your profile on Norman Simons, remember?

Excellent work, by the way.

Oh, thank you so much.

So, your conclusion?

Yeah. Well, it was the neatness of the scenes.

The perfectionism.

That was the first clue.

The ego-dystonic killer has an ideal image of himself

that doesn't correlate with his need to kill.

So, from that and an eyewitness MO,

I deduced that he'd be trusted in the community.

I knew I was looking for someone who disassociated,

who'd seek to isolate themselves,

who suffered feelings of guilt and helplessness.

Well, that's what the nurse described.

Liebman. Yeah, exactly.

Although I don't agree with all of his conclusions.

Such as?

That all serial killers are ego-dystonic.

Most killers have virtually no superego.

They don't regret. They don't feel guilt.

They have unusually high self-esteem.

Your work's impressive, Micki.

The pathologies, the understanding of behaviours, the deductions.

It's spot on.

So are you on to your next case already?

Um... The next two, actually.

That kind of hands-on investigative work never happens stateside.

I'm envious.

Don't be.

The detectives don't seem to like it.

Think I'm interfering.

Well, that's because we chase ghosts.

We're concerned with causes, not symptoms.

With thoughts, not deeds.

Deeds are how detectives are taught to understand their work.

Yeah.

Well, maybe someone should teach them differently.

Maybe that someone should be you.

Thank you, Mr Ressler.

Um, thank you.

Hello. Hi.

My guess was black, two sugars.

Uh, black, no sugar.

You must be Erika. Erika. Captain Bothes.

And you are Doctor Pistorius.

Well, coffee's wrong, but I've got...

Ooh! This looks way more promising.

Hm.

So, Delmas Police Station?

No, change of plan.

We're going to meet our guy at the stream.

Where they found the bodies? Yeah.

OK. We'll take my car. Mm-hm.

May I?

Sure.

Wow. Well, you have clearly prepped.

So, go on, then.

Tell me what you know about Warren Barnes.

Um... Member of an extreme right-wing group.

He turned himself in. Confessed.

Claimed two of the three murders happened at that stream.

His descriptions match the scenes.

Traumatic childhood, molestation, severe abuse.

But now he's after an insanity defence.

Claims multiple personality disorder.

In psychiatric care, not prison time.

Doesn't dispute that he killed,

but says he can't be held responsible

because he has no memory of the murders.

Is he telling the truth? No.

People with MPD don't act out revenge fantasies.

Serial killers do.

That's what you said in your lectures.

So, Warren Barnes is lying.

I studied at the Institute for Behavioural Sciences.

They're still using your old notes to teach.

What about the victim profiles?

Black women, mostly. Big surprise.

First one, he claims she made sexual advances towards him.

Queen Bhuyeni. She was a prostitute.

Worked in and around the CBD in the gambling dens.

She was popular.

Had her customers go to the Crown Hotel.

He must have been one of them.

And she trusted him.

Didn't work out too well for her.

So, he dislikes sexually forward women.

Maybe he sees his acts

as a sort of justice for his own abuse.

Could be a way of punishing the women for enjoying sex.

Or a projection of his own guilt for enjoying sex with black women.

Or, possibly, simply for existing.

Hello, Warren.

My name is Micki Pistorius. Want to take a walk with me?

It's beautiful here, isn't it?

Uh-huh.

Peaceful.

I love these kinds of walks.

They help me clear my head. Ms Pistorius...

..why are we here?

I thought it might be more pleasant than the police station.

Some sun.

Fresh air.

And there's something I wanted to see here.

Should be right around here.

They were for Queen.

Her family left them here after her body was found.

They wanted to know the exact place she'd been dumped.

This is the spot you pointed out, wasn't it?

I've never been here.

OK.

Let's talk.

How do you know Queen Bhuyeni?

Were you a regular customer of hers?

I would never sleep with a woman like that.

Why not?

She was a professional.

There's no shame in that.

It's against my culture to sleep with such a woman.

I see.

And yet the victim is found to have been sexually assaulted.

Her genitals mutilated.

She was raped and then stabbed multiple times.

You did that? Not...

Not me.

You showed the police where you left her body, Warren.

If it wasn't you, who was it?

It was someone else.

An Afrikaner?

Yeah.

What's his name?

His name is Diederick.

And where's Diederick now?

Warren. Is Diederick here?

Diedrick doesn't want to talk.

I think you do want to talk.

HIGHER VOICE: What do you want, Ms Pistorius?

I want to know how you killed Queen.

She came to my door.

She knocked.

She wanted to have sex with me.

And is that what you wanted?

No.

You didn't like her touching you?

She should never have done that.

She should never have touched me.

Queen didn't hurt you, did she?

The woman who hurt you,

that happened when you were much younger.

Why did Queen remind you of the woman who hurt you?

This is bullshit. He's lying.

Is it because Queen touched you?

I... I don't know her.

Interrogations are really fragile.

Need to tread gently.

I'm sorry. But he is lying.

Doesn't mean we don't have to play along.

(PHONE RINGS)

Yeah. This is Micki. Ninth victim.

Different districts. Similar MO.

The mortuary just called with a confirmation.

OK. Yeah, we'll meet you at the morgue.

Doctor.

Oh, right.

Breathe through your mouth.

Small gulps. Makes it easier.

Right. So...

Lungi Biyela.

24 years old.

Strangled with her pantihose.

You'll notice some severe bruising on the inner thighs.

Can we see the clothing she came in with?

Sure. What's left of it.

Knock yourself out. Thank you.

When did you last wear a pair of pantihose?

Not since Sunday school. Yeah. Me neither.

She was looking smart the day she went missing.

Why do you think a woman would be this well-dressed?

Church? On a Tuesday?

Maybe on her way to work?

Yeah. Then why stop and talk to a stranger?

Why get in his car

if you're on your way to something important, like your job?

You're right.

Quite a few of them were well-dressed.

Victim was wearing court shoes, blue blouse, black skirt.

The Station Strangler promised the boys a reward.

You think this guy is promising these women something?

I don't know.

But a woman wearing pantihose wouldn't get into the car

of a man who looked poor or badly dressed.

It must have been a good car.

Or a rich man.

Closest match to those details is David Selepe.

Yeah, for this one.

Where did that come from? I've got to jump up and down.

No way. Is that Waterkloof?

That big old lady.

You've been sitting down here for hours.

Do you need a heart-to-heart?

You were never very good at those.

I can shut up and listen if you need me to.

Is that for me?

I'm not that much of a dragon.

Alright. Listen up.

David Selepe, 29 years of age.

Registered address puts him up in Boksburg.

We move as soon as we are done here.

Sergeant?

Um, I was supposed to brief the team on my full profile.

Why are we arresting Selepe?

Well, you identified him for us. Well, done.

I'm sure you are keen to get back to your own office.

No, sorry... Look, my work's not done.

I said I needed more time on this.

How did we land on him?

We need an arrest.

While you are busy doing paperwork, our killer is a free man.

Now, this Selepe.

He has links to Pretoria and Johannesburg.

He owns a college.

He has a special interest in teaching female students.

He drives a Mercedes Benz.

All of which link up to what we have of your profile

and the actual evidence.

My profile isn't finished.

I can't get a clear picture,

there's too many inconsistencies and contradictions.

A few of these crime scenes feel like the work of two,

maybe three totally different killers.

We are not looking for three killers.

These scenes have almost nothing in common.

The one thing they have in common, Captain, is dead women.

Yeah, but how do we know Selepe killed them all?

Look. This last victim had no blunt-force trauma.

Three previous victims all had head wounds.

Why would the killer's MO change so drastically

from one victim to the next?

This last woman had no assault injuries at all.

She must have gone with him willingly.

Now, why would she do that, huh? I don't know.

That's what I'm saying,

I need more time to interpret the scenes.

How about you let me decide on the arrests, Dr Pistorius?

You've done your job. I'll do mine.

Officers have been to the college and his home address, but no luck.

We know he travels between Pretoria and Johannesburg,

so we are putting up roadblocks.

He drives a champagne Mercedes Benz, five years old.

Let's get this guy before he gets another victim.

Let's go.

What the...? I had to give him a name.

What if you gave him the wrong one?

Well, that's up to the top level to sort out now.

It's not our problem. I'm sorry.

Ready?

Could you turn off your engine please, sir?

Sure.

Your papers, please.

Of course.

Problem with the papers?

Open the boot for me, please, sir.

(PRISONERS SHOUTING)

Sir.

You need to come with us, please.

(PRISONERS SHOUTING)

Captain Pistorius, you interviewed my client,

Warren Barnes, is that correct?

That's right. I spent two hours with him.

You say in your report

that Mr Barnes wants to convince the court

that he suffers from multiple personality disorder.

That's correct.

How can you say that he wants to convince us, Captain?

Surely if somebody can't remember,

it's not within our power to disprove their memory.

Well, that's not quite true.

Yes, I can only judge the facts in front of me.

His words, his actions, his personal history.

But from those words, those actions,

I can tell when someone is faking memory loss.

So, what about Mr Barnes's personal history struck you most?

Um...

When children are abused like Mr Barnes was,

they have several options for mental defence.

A person might develop split personalities, MPD to cope.

MPD represses the abuse, but, in my opinion,

very rarely morphs into revenge fantasies.

The revenge fantasies are what fuel the murders serial killers commit.

But a person with MPD wouldn't feel compelled

to act out their fantasies.

The serial killer does.

That's what makes him different.

Mr Barnes claims the abuse he suffered

led to his developing multiple personality disorder

and that's what came over him when he killed.

That it was a second personality.

A someone he called Diederick who committed the act.

But MPD and the urge to kill

are two completely different responses for abused individuals.

In my opinion, they don't overlap.

You are saying that these two things

can NEVER coexist in one person.

Psychology isn't an exact science.

I'm saying it's highly improbable.

I hear what you're saying, Dr.

But if you have any doubt at all, this court should know that.

From my research, I know it's highly improbable.

My client would disagree.

And it's possible that he would challenge what you've been taught.

That he's a murderer? Yes, that's clear, as the evidence shows.

But that he also suffers from a personality disorder.

A mitigating fact.

Isn't that fairly clear as well?

Captain, after speaking to this man, my client,

can you tell this court conclusively

that Mr Barnes does not suffer from multiple personality disorder?

I can say that conclusively, yes.

In my professional opinion,

to the best of my knowledge,

Mr Barnes is lying.

(APPLAUSE)

Siela?

You did well on that stand today.

Siela?

Yeah. It's my new nickname for you.

For 'sielkunde', psychologist, it also means soul.

And I'm also the bearer of more good news.

They arrested Selepe.

Where? Where is he now?

He's in the Brixton Police Station.

He confessed to 15 murders.

15?

And he agreed to take the detectives to the scenes of the crime.

Then we'll know.

I want to talk to him.

I need to.

You can.

In fact, I'm not sold on this one.

I need to understand it.

Now, if they really were all him,

then that is a fascinating case study.

(LAUGHS) What?

There's no-one that I know that thinks the way that you do.

And that's meant as a compliment. Thank you.

I promise you, you will get your interview.

And you're going to get into his head.

Yeah. Take the win.

While it's still here. There are few enough of them.

Yeah.

(BOTTLES CLINK)

He's going to fall and break his neck if we're not careful.

And then we'll be the bad guys.

Take them off.

It's not on me. Spread your legs.

OK. Where is it?

Over there.

What's over there? A body?

A bag of underwear.

Where is it?

It's there.

I'll show you.

Uncuff him.

Seriously. Open up your hands.

There's a bag over here. Yes, it's here.

Hey! Hey! Stop.

(GUNSHOT)

Frikkie?

Are you OK?

Someone radio an ambulance.

OK, cool. Just lay down your head...

(MUSIC ON HEADPHONES)

(SIGHS)

(PHONE RINGS)

Yeah. Hello.

They killed him.

David Selepe.

What? Yeah.

No interview. No chance of understanding.

No knowledge. Just another body.

We did our part, right?

I mean, whatever the outcome, women's lives will be saved.

Yeah.

Now we don't learn anything, though.

We've lost the chance to understand how one of these men thinks.

Now, that's how lives really get saved.

Not by taking justice into our own hands.

Yeah.

Shame, I'd say let's go for a drink

but my fiance is waiting for me at home.

Oh, it's fine.

I'm fine.

Go home.

Enjoy your evening.

I'll see you tomorrow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'll miss you. Yeah, well, I'm not going anywhere.

Are you?

Last day in Pretoria till they need me somewhere else.

Always got a place here if you need one.

Yeah. You did your best.

I just keep thinking if there's something I missed.

Like, if there's someone else still out there.

I don't know.

You know, maybe sometimes the why isn't the most important thing.

Yeah.

Maybe.

Oh, will you?

Don't smoke it all at once.

It's not all on you, you know.

Take care of yourself, OK?

See you soon.

(TAXI REVS)

Have you ever heard of Luke 5 32?

"I have not come to call the righteous.

"But sinners to repentance."

What does this say to you?

That we have to repent our sins.

But what else?

That we are no worse than no-one else.

Exactly.

Our Saviour does not see our sins.

He sees us.

And He loves us and forgives us.

No matter what we have done.

He wipes the slate clean.

He has given us salvation.

And it is ours to claim.

Captions by Red Bee Media (c) SBS Australia 2024