Pretoria John Does were three male youths who were found in Pretoria, South Africa; two at the hills near Pretoria Zoo and one on a hill in Pretoria North in January 1999. They are the three unidentified victims of Samuel Sidyno AKA The Capital Killer.
Case[]
Between November 1998 and January 1999, Sidyno, an ex-convict formerly jailed for a violent rape, assaulted and killed two adult women and five male youths. Afterwards, he would bury most of their bodies in a deserted area of the Capital Park Hills near the Pretoria Zoo. One of the boys was buried on a hill in Pretoria North. Additionally, he would reclothe his victims and place their shoes neatly next to their bodies. The decomposed bodies would be discovered within a few days of each other by both members of the public and law enforcement, the latter of whom was directed by Sidyno following his arrest on 6 January 1999.
The two women were identified as Paulinah Ledwaba (AKA Kedibone Ledwaba) and Elizabeth Senwamadi, and two of the youths were identified as Ronald Maoka (AKA Tsholofelo Maoka) and Emmanuel Mavuka. An 8 August 2000 IOL article states one of the youths may have been a man only known as "Oupa" and the boy found at the Pretoria North was only known as "Mannetjie", but the veracity of this information is unclear.
On 30 September 2000, Sidyno was convicted of all seven murders as well as two counts of robbery, but was acquitted of two counts of rape. His conviction was based on his confession, DNA evidence found at the crime scene, and the victim's clothing in his possession. He was sentenced to seven life terms, with a recommended 40 years in prison before parole.
Sources[]
- IOL:
- Samuel Sidyno on Wikipedia