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Samuel SIDYNO

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 


A.K.A.: "Capital Park serial killer"
 
Classification: Spree killer
Characteristics: Serial rapist
Number of victims: 7
Date of murders: November 1998 - January 1999
Date of arrest: January 6, 1999
Date of birth: 1962
Victims profile: Two women, Paulinah Ledwaba and Elizabeth Senwamadi, youths Ronald Maoka and Emmanuel Mavuka, and three youths who have not been identified
Method of murder: Strangulation
Location: Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa
Status: Sentenced to seven life terms in prison (minimum 40 years) on September 6, 2000
 
 
 
 
 
 

South African Serial Killer Samuel Sidyno was sentenced to seven life terms in August of 2000 for the killings of two women and five boys in 1998 and 1999.

DNA evidence linking Sidyno to the death of Pauline Ledwaba, plus his own confession (which he later recanted) proved this heinous murderer guilty. All the victims were found in close proximity to each other near the Pretoria Zoo. Despite leading police to one of victims' decomposing corpse, Sidyno maintained his innocence throughout his trial.

Sidyno killed by strangulation, leaving his victims under hastily gathered piles of sticks and brush in a park next to the zoo. He had a couple of bizarre murderous habits, such as lining up the victims' shoes neatly next to their body and re-clothing the corpses, with the exlcusion of their underwear.

This serial murdering sexual sadist will be eligible for parole in forty years, though his sentencing judge declared him to impossible to rehabilitate.

 
 

Serial killer gets 7 life terms

Dispatch.co.za

Wednesday, September 6, 2000

PRETORIA -- Serial killer Samuel Sidyno was sentenced in the high court yesterday to seven life terms for his "cold-blooded and cruel" murder spree here in late 1998 and early 1999.

Judge Johan van der Westhuizen said Sidyno, 35, was a dangerous man and it would be unwise to ever let him loose again. He recommended Sidyno serve at least 40 years of his sentence before being considered for parole.

Sidyno was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of two women, Paulinah Ledwaba and Elizabeth Senwamadi, youths Ronald Maoka and Emmanuel Mavuka, and three youths who have not been identified.

Sidyno used his hands to squeeze the life out of his victims after luring them to his "lair" on a lonely hill north of the city.

All of the victims were murdered in a period of less than five weeks.

From Sidyno's confession, it appeared the victims had been murdered after arguments about small sums of money or because they had "bothered" Sidyno.

Van der Westhuizen said all the victims were defenceless and seemed to have been poor. Sidyno "hunted those he considered easy prey".

Although there was not enough evidence to classify him as a sadistic sexual murderer, he was a very dangerous man who had murdered his victims in a cruel and cold-blooded manner without ever showing any remorse.

There was a macabre pattern in the way he left the victims on their stomachs with their shoes removed and their bodies covered with branches.

All indications were that he would have continued his murderous spree if he had not been caught, the judge said.

 
 

Pretoria serial killer convicted of 7 murders

IndependentonSaturday.co.za

August 30, 2000

A Pretoria High Court judge on Wednesday convicted Samuel Sidyno of seven murders, adding him to South Africa's growing list of serial killers.

During his trial before Judge Johan van der Westhuizen, a picture emerged of a man who lured women and youths between the ages of 12 and 19 to a desolate hill not far from the Pretoria city centre.

He lived nearby, in a room at a water tower close to the Pretoria Zoo.

In the densely bushed area of Capital Park hill, Sidyno assaulted and strangled two women and five youths in a killing spree which lasted less than three months before the first body was discovered by a school janitor.

The decomposing remains of his seven victims were discovered within a few days of each other - some by members of the public and others by police.

One of the bodies was found while Sidyno was pointing out the places where he killed his victims.

The victims were ritualistically placed on their stomachs, their shoes removed and their bodies covered with branches.

Many of the youths had their underpants removed and then replaced.

Sidyno, in a statement before the magistrate described in detail how he strangled each victim until they stopped moving.

In the Pretoria High Court, he gave a rambling and often incoherent account of what he alleged was daily torture sessions by up to 15 policemen.

He said the sessions were aimed at getting a confession from him.

He claimed he knew nothing about the murders and suggested the police must have murdered the seven people, and that he might well have been number eight.

The state paraded almost the entire Pretoria murder and robbery unit before him, but he could not point out his alleged attackers.

The only injury doctors and a magistrate recorded was an abrasion on his cheek.

Police said he was wearing leg irons and handcuffs when he pointed out the murder scenes, and fell on the rough terrain.

Van der Westhuizen on Monday rejected claims by Sidyno's counsel that he must be suffering from a mental illness, despite the fact that a state psychiatrist found him to be normal and able to stand trial.

He said Sidyno made a poor impression on the court and told obvious lies. His evidence was lively and enthusiastic, and he never gave the impression that he was suffering from a mental illness or defect.

Sidyno was convicted of murdering Paulinah Ledwaba and stealing her jeans. Sidyno was wearing her jeans during his arrest and some of her possessions were found in his room.

DNA evidence positively linked his semen and blood to a T-shirt and tissue found with her body.

Although there was no DNA to link Sidyno to the rest of the bodies - most of them found in a severely decomposed state - the judge said similar facts linked all of the cases.

All of the bodies, except the last one, were discovered close to each other on the hill near the Zoo.

The bodies were also arranged in a similar manner and Sidyno pointed out seven different scenes to the police in or very near to the places where the bodies were actually found.

The judge also convicted Sidyno for the murders of Elizabeth Senwamadi, two youths - Ronald Maoka and Emmanuel Mavuka N and three youths who could not be identified.

He could, however, not find Sidyno guilty of raping his two female victims because there was no positive evidence to the effect.

Sidyno, in his statement before the magistrate, claimed they consented to have sex with him, but started arguing about payment, which was why he murdered them.

The trial will continue on Thursday, when the State is expected to lead evidence about Sidyno's prior convictions - which he refused to admit.

 
 

Samuel Sidyno

August 21, 2000

The Pretoria High Court admitted as evidence a confession made by alleged Capital Park serial killer Samuel Sidyno to police. Sidyno has pleaded not guilty to murdering two women and five boys between November 1998 and January last year. He also denied guilt on two charges of rape and two of robbery.

Judge Johan van der Westhuizen was presented with notes of a statement, made during a "pointing-out" to the police, despite claims by Sidyno that police had assaulted him and forced him to make the statement. Sidyno claimed earlier this week the police had murdered the victims and that he "could have been the eighth body". He claimed some 15 policemen had taken turns to hit and kick him, but could not point out any of his alleged attackers and could not explain why a photograph taken of him after the pointing-out showed no signs of the alleged assault.

Superintendent M H van Rooyen testified that Sidyno had voluntarily pointed out six murder scenes on a hill in Capital Park behind the Pretoria Zoo where he claimed to have killed and left the bodies of his victims. The skull of one of the bodies was discovered under a bush during the pointing-out, but only after Sidyno lifted the branches with which the decomposed body was covered.

 
 

Court accepts zoo-killer suspect's confession

IndependentonSaturday.co.za

August 18, 2000

A confession, made by alleged Capital Park serial killer Samuel Sidyno in which he described strangling six victims, was admitted as evidence against him in the Pretoria High Court on Friday.

Sidyno has pleaded not guilty to murdering two women and five boys between November 1998 and January last year. He also denied guilt on two charges of rape and two of robbery.

Judge Johan van der Westhuizen was presented with notes of a statement, made during a "pointing-out" to the police, despite claims by Sidyno that police had assaulted him and forced him to make the statement.

Sidyno claimed earlier this week the police had murdered the victims and that he "could have been the eighth body".

He claimed that about 15 policemen had taken turns to hit and kick him - but could not point out any of his alleged attackers and could not explain why a photograph taken of him after the pointing-out showed no signs of the alleged assault.

Superintendent M H van Rooyen testified that Sidyno had voluntarily pointed out six murder scenes on a hill in Capital Park behind the Pretoria Zoo where he allegedly claimed to have killed and left the bodies of his victims.

The skull of one of the bodies was discovered under a bush during the pointing-out, but only after Sidyno lifted the branches with which the decomposed body was covered.

From Sidyno's statement, it appeared that he knew the names of some of the victims, whom he had met and taken to the hill. He persuaded some to accompany him to find work and others with promises of giving them a place to stay.

In each case, he claimed there was a "fight" with the victim, mostly about money - after which he put his hands around the victim's neck and squeezed until they lay still. Only one of the victims, a young boy, was still moving slightly when he covered the body with branches.

He confessed to taking small amounts of money from some of his victims and also told police that he had sex with two female victims before strangling them.

He had taken the jeans of one of the female victims. The court earlier heard evidence that Sidyno was wearing a women's jeans, which were identified as belonging to one of his victims, when he was arrested.

He was also linked to the scene where her body was found by DNA evidence taken from semen and blood found on and near her body.

 
 

DNA links suspected serial killer to body

IndependentonSaturday.co.za

August 14, 2000

A DNA expert has positively linked alleged Capital Park serial killer Samuel Sidyno to the scene where the body of one of his alleged victims was discovered near the Pretoria Zoo more than a year ago.

Sidyno has denied guilt before the Pretoria High Court of seven murder charges, two of rape and two of robbery. He claims he had nothing to do with any of the crimes.

It is alleged that he raped and killed two women and murdered five boys between November 1998 and January 1999.

Forensic expert Superintendent Karin Botha testified that a DNA sample taken from Sidyno was an almost perfect match to a semen sample taken from a T-shirt thrown over the body of Paulinah Ledwaba, one of the alleged victims.

Sidyno's blood and semen, mixed with Ledwaba's blood, was also found on a piece of tissue paper near her body.

Forensic pathologist Hendrik Scholtz, who performed an autopsy on Ledwaba's body, said her death was caused by strangulation.

She had bruises around her neck and had probably been strangled with something like a piece of clothing.

It appeared from abrasions on Ledwaba's body that she had been moved after her death.

Ledwaba's body was, in a similar fashion to the six other bodies alleged to be those of Sidyno's victims, found lying prone and covered with branches, her shoes placed neatly next to her.

Ledwaba's sister, Eunice, testified that she had last seen her sister wearing a pair of blue jeans on January 2. She identified the jeans that Sidyno was wearing during his arrest as her sister's.

Pathologist Marcel Naude testified that another alleged victim, Elizabeth Senwamadi, whose body was discovered in the veld near the zoo in December 1998, also died of strangulation.

Although the body was severely decomposed, a piece of material was found wrapped around the neck and there were also signs of damage to the neck muscles.

Scholtz, who also examined the bodies of the boys - three of whom were never identified - said a strange feature in some of the cases was that the underpants had been removed, but the trousers replaced and zipped up.

The bodies were all between three weeks and three months old when found, and were mostly severely decomposed.

In one case, the skull was no longer attached to the body and in another wild animals had started eating the body, Scholtz said.

He said the fact that the bodies were covered with branches made it difficult to determine the time of death.

 
 

Court told of killer's zoo 'burial ground'

IndependentonSaturday.co.za

August 8, 2000

The man alleged to be the Capital Park serial killer, Samuel Sidyno, on Tuesday told the Pretoria High Court he knew nothing about a number of bodies found on a hill near Pretoria Zoo in January last year.

Sidyno, 37, pleaded not guilty to seven murder, two rape and two robbery charges when he appeared before Justice Johan van der Westhuizen.

The state alleges that between November 1998 and January 1999, Sidyno raped and strangled two women - Kedibone Ledwaba and Elizabeth Senwamadi - in Capital Park, Pretoria.

He allegedly also robbed Ledwaba of clothes and cash.

He is also accused of murdering two unidentified boys, murdering and robbing a man known only as Oupa, and killing another two boys, Tsholofelo Maoka and Emmanuel Mavuka.

The decomposed body of one of the boys, who was known as Mannetjie, was found on a hill in Pretoria North and the rest were discovered on a hill near Pretoria Zoo.

The cause of death of the last group of bodies could not be determined, as most were in an advanced state of decomposition.

Prosecutor Christo Roberts said the bodies were discovered in quick succession after the first one came to light.

All the bodies were found in similar circumstances - on their stomachs, covered with branches and with their shoes removed and placed neatly next to the bodies.

Sidyno's DNA was found on a T-shirt and tissues near the body of Ledwaba, and a belt and snuff box, said to have been in her possession before she disappeared were found in a tower in Capital Park, where Sidyno, used to live.

When he was arrested, Sidyno was wearing denim pants which were later identified as belonging to Ledwaba.

Roberts said Sidyno subsequently pointed out several of the murder sites in Capital Park to police. One of the bodies was also discovered in the process. A few days later, he made a similar confession to a magistrate.

When a body, lying on its stomach and covered with branches, was found in Pretoria North a short while later, Sidyno was again questioned and pointed out a spot in Pretoria North to police.

Roberts said Sidyno was sent for psychiatric observation, but was found to be accountable for his actions.

Sidyno, who said he was Afrikaans-speaking and did not need an interpreter, repeatedly told the court that he "knew nothing" about any of the murders.

He tried to tell the court of an alleged assault by the police, but the judge said he would get a chance to do so in due course.

The state on Tuesday led police evidence about the various murder scenes and involving a map drawn up by police.

 
 

Pretoria serial killer suspect was on parole

Weekly Mail & Guardian - 1999

The Department of Correctional Services deemed Samuel Sidymo fit to be freed on parole nine months before completing his sentence. But one day after he broke his parole conditions Pretoria police arrested him on suspicion that he is a serial murderer who went on a killing spree from December 1998 to January 6 this year.

Six bodies were discovered on Capital Hill near the Pretoria zoo and overlooking the Union Buildings. Senior Superintendent Rudi van Olst, head of the Pretoria murder and robbery unit, said this week police are confident Sidymo is linked to the murders. He was released in November after serving three-and-a-half years of a sentence of four years and 90 days for rape, assault and robbery.

During his time in prison, he was charged with assault and possession of dagga. However, correctional services representative Russel Mamabolo insists Sidymo earned his parole: "He wasn't problematic in prison."

Police say Sidymo (37) initially denied any involvement in the Capital Hill killings, but cracked when confronted with physical evidence. DNA analyses have also implicated him, they say.

The Pretoria murder and robbery unit says it made the fastest arrest ever in connection with serial killings - within 48 hours of beginning an intensive investigation. Says Van Olst: "A lot of investigations still have to be done ... but at the end of the day this case is going to be strong."

At the beginning of the investigation police were not aware of Sidymo's criminal history, or that he had contravened his parole conditions. Van Olst says tenacious detective work led to the arrest of the man accused of having had a short rein of terror over the Christmas and New Year season.

The first victim, a woman, was found on December 14. Her body was so badly decomposed that police had to reconstruct her face in order to identify her. Police treated the case as an isolated incident of murder.

On the second morning of 1999, two more bodies were found on the hill. These too had been there for several days. They were men in their late teens.

It was then that Van Olst ordered his men to comb the 2km2 area. "We picked up everything that did not blend with the natural environment and questioned people in the vicinity." More than 100 police officers and police dogs were deployed. That afternoon they found a fourth body. It was a boy aged between 12 and 14.

By January 4 police had established there was a serial killer on the loose. He had somehow managed to lure unsuspecting victims to this quiet hill with a scenic view of Pretoria and then strangled them.

A team of 10 detectives found the fifth victim, a woman, on January 4. The next day police set up 24-hour surveillance on Capital Hill.

They didn't have too long a wait because at about 4am the suspect was found strolling about and police picked him up for questioning. He was immediately linked to some of the clues picked up two days previously.

Sidymo appeared in court on charges of murder and the case was postponed to the end of February.

Van Olst believes the suspect was acting alone despite the discovery of the sixth victim after Sidymo's arrest. Police say this body was badly decomposed.

  


 

Samuel Sidyno (7+)

Police are not ruling out the possibility that the hills around Pretoria could be littered with the remains of more victims of alleged serial killer Samuel Sidyno. This announcement follows the discovery of a seventh body found January 16, 1999, by a group of children hiking in Mountain View in the Magaliesberg.

Senior Superintendent Rudi van Olst, commander of murder and robbery, said there was a possibility of more bodies being found in the hills around Pretoria. "By taking into account certain similarities between the murder scenes at Capital Hill and the recent one, we can say beyond reasonable doubt that it is the work of the serial killer Samuel Sidyno. The modus operandi is very similar to the Capital Hill murders," he said.

Sidyno was arrested on January 6, two days after the body of a fourth victim was found on a hill close to Pretoria's zoo. So far the bodies of two women, a 12-year-old boy, two 19-year-old men and another man all badly decomposed have been found at Capital Hill.

Mayhem.net

 
 


Samuel Sidyno

 

 

 
 
 
 
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