Showmax has dropped the trailer for The ABC Killer, a gripping new true-crime documentary series centered around one of South Africa’s most notorious serial killers, Moses Sithole.
The series begins in 1994, when rookie journalist Tamsen de Beer was working the night shift at The Star newspaper. One evening, she received a phone call that would change her life — from a man claiming to be the country’s most prolific serial killer.
As the phone calls continued, a disturbing connection developed. “It was like a journey I was on with him,” de Beer says in the trailer. “We were bonded in a strange, ugly way. I was hoping he was okay all the time, which is absolutely crazy.”
In the months following South Africa’s democratic transition, the man calling de Beer stalked young Black women across Atteridgeville, Boksburg, and Cleveland — the ABC in his infamous moniker.
He would eventually be convicted of 38 murders, 40 rapes, and six robberies, all committed over just one year, in broad daylight, and while sober.
“This was the biggest case of our history at the time,” says former detective Derrick Nosworthy in the trailer. “I don’t think we had ever had a case where there were so many people murdered by potentially one offender.”
Directed by Jasyn Howes — whose previous Showmax docuseries Boetie Boer earned SAFTA nominations — The ABC Killer features first-hand testimony from those closest to the case. These include:
- Tamsen de Beer and her former night editor Alameen Brendan Templeton
- South Africa’s first profiler Micki Pistorius
- Detectives Ettiene “Vinyl” Viljoen, Frans van Niekerk, and Paul Nkomo
- Deputy national prosecutor George Baloyi, and Sithole’s defence attorneys Anthony Richards and Eben Jordaan
One of the most powerful moments in the series comes from Buyiswa Swakhamisu, a survivor who recounts how Sithole lured her with the promise of employment. She details her attack and her courageous pursuit of justice.
The ABC Killer documentary includes rare and chilling materials:
- A video interview of Sithole recorded by a fellow inmate
- Archive footage of his 1995 questioning at One Military Hospital
- Transcripts of phone conversations with de Beer
- Letters written by Sithole to clinical psychologist Dr Giada Del Fabbro
Also featured in The ABC Killer are testimonies from award-winning photographer Jodi Bieber, Dr Del Fabbro, and former crime reporter Phalane Motale, who shockingly recalls recognizing the identikit: “I said, ‘That’s my friend.’”
As with Boetie Boer, Howes uses extensive reenactments, filmed in real-world locations including The Star offices, Germiston Train Station, Pretoria High Court, and the factory where Sithole was captured.
Actor Gifter Ngobenisen portrays Moses Sithole, with Louise van der Merwe as Tamsen de Beer, and Graham Hopkins (The Lab, The Girl from St Agnes) as Judge George Curlewis.
The ABC Killer is coming to Showmax in July 2025
The ABC Killer is a three-part series produced with input from SAFTA-winning writer Andy Petersen (Shaka iLembe, Red Ink). It premieres on Tuesday, 22 July on Showmax and will be available to binge in full. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Watch the trailer for the documentary below:
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