Showmax has unveiled the initial trailers for Dark Side of Glory, a true crime documentary series exploring shocking murder cases in the sports world.
More info about Dark Side of Glory
Dark Side of Glory is helmed by director Arianna Perretta and produced by CMG Productions. The production company won Best Documentary at the 2023 Broadcast Digital Awards for The Footballer, His Wife and the Crash and received a 2024 True Crime Award nomination for Football Fraudster.
The series premiere, The Durban Axe Murderer: The Rugby Killer, debuts on Showmax on Wednesday, 31 July 2024. This gripping 76-minute documentary focuses on Joseph Ntshongwana, a former U21 South African player and Blue Bulls team member from 1998 to 2001.
A decade later, he faced arrest for axe murders of four men and injuries to two others. Joseph claimed vengeance for his daughter’s gang rape and HIV infection, but investigators discovered he had no children.
Former Blue Bulls teammate and Springbok winger McNeil Hendricks remarks, “There’s a saying that goes, ‘He couldn’t hurt a fly.’ It’s hard to believe that Joseph Ntshongwana, as we knew him, had chopped people’s heads off.”
The documentary features interviews with captain Rico Naidoo, colonels Jason McGray and Ze-Ev Krein, detective Marius Van Der Looy, former South African Police Service head profiler Dr Gérard Labuschagne, senior state advocate Nadira Moosa, psychiatrist Dr Zuber Moola, rugby journalist Brenden Nel, and key witnesses.
Perretta states, “I felt it was crucial to ensure that the testimonies of the victims and witnesses in The Durban Axe Murderer were heard. Fikile Mkhwanazi, the partner of murder victim Paulus Hlongwa, sharing her story was particularly powerful.”
Dark Side Of Glory‘s second episode, Death in the Heartlands, is set to premiere on Showmax on Wednesday, 7 August 2024. This 86-minute documentary delves into the 2021 murders of three female runners in Kenya: Edith Muthoni, Agnes Tirop, and Damaris Muthee Mutua. Tragically, their alleged killers were the men closest to them – their partners or coaches.
Two of these murders occurred in Iten, an elite running community known as the Home of Champions. Tirop, an Olympian and two-time World Athletic Championship medalist, was found stabbed to death in her home shortly after setting a 10,000m world record in Germany. She was expected to be a top contender at the Paris Olympics.
Yale academic Dr Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu comments, “The culture of elite sport is that we celebrate tunnel vision in order to pursue our goal. But then we become highly vulnerable.”
The documentary features interviews with Directorate of Criminal Investigation inspector Andolo Munga, coach Joseph Cheromei, Agnes’ family and neighbors, and Olympian Viola Cheptoo Lagat, co-founder of Tirop’s Angels, an organization standing against gender-based violence.
Perretta explains, “Death in the Heartlands exposes the harsh challenges young, especially female, athletes face and celebrates the resilience and courage of the women who have organized to challenge the culture and system around elite running in Kenya.”
She adds, “Dark Side of Glory puts the spotlight on the real voices behind these cases, from the relentless Durban police team that brought Joseph Ntshongwana to justice, to the courageous friends and families of Agnes Tirop, Edith Muthoni, and Damaris Muthee, who exposed the exploitation of female athletes. These are raw, powerful, and shocking stories.”
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