7 months of killing: Feb–Sep 2007
Taki killed 13 women over roughly 7 months, from February to September 2007, averaging nearly one victim every 2.5 weeks.
Snapshot · Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder
Ep. 115 | The Brutal Sugarcane Serial Killer
Explore episode
Jun 17, 2026
Where this was said
How Taki Chose His Victims: Language, Trust, and Fake Companies
At 37:20 · chapter starts 33:20
The mechanics of how Taki selected and groomed his victims are chillingly methodical. Most of his victims spoke isiZulu, a language he shared — women who would feel comfortable with a man who sounded like home. He introduced himself as someone with connections to legitimate, well-known companies: Hewlett-Packard, Nestlé, Ilovo, Toyota. The specificity of the company names made the offers credible, especially to women who had never navigated a formal hiring process. The next step was always money: a bribe to secure the position, or a first month's rent at company housing. Amounts ranged from R300 to R3,000 — roughly $40 to $430 — and for women earning little or nothing, that sum was significant. Some had to borrow from relatives; some families turned to loan sharks. Then came the trip, which Taki made together with his victim by minibus, sometimes even getting her to cover his fare. To anyone else on the bus, they looked completely ordinary.
Fake placement fees: R300–R3,000
Taki charged victims between R300 and R3,000 — roughly $40 to $430 USD — as fake 'bribe' or housing fees, with some families borrowing from loan sharks to pay.
Poverty as a Weapon: How the System Created Easy Prey
Taki was no innovator. At least 12 other South African serial predators used the exact same fake-job playbook. He found women who had no safety net, promised them the one thing they couldn't refuse, and took them somewhere no one could help them.
Similar snapshots
Sued for $250B before Uber
Before Uber, Kalanick built a peer-to-peer file-sharing system and was sued for a quarter of a trillion dollars by 33 major media companies.
Arms dealer Edwin Wilson: 52-year sentence
CIA operative Edwin Wilson, part of the illegal arms network used by Oliver North, was sentenced to 52 years for supplying Libya with 10,000 machine guns and 20 tons of C4.
186-year prison sentence sought
US prosecutors sought a 186-year prison sentence for Kim Dotcom, largely because of his financial support for WikiLeaks.
Mario Tabraue sentenced to 100+ years
Mario Tabraue, a central figure in Monsters of God linked to drug trafficking and murder, was sentenced to over 100 years in prison but served only 12 years.
Disappeared October 3, 2024
Zelig Williams disappeared on October 3rd, 2024 after leaving his mother's home in Columbia, South Carolina and has not been seen since.
Season 5 — 6 new unsolved mysteries
Dateline: Missing in America Season 5 features six new unsolved missing-persons mysteries, hoping a listener may hold a crucial clue.
Strickland got 2 felony GBI charges
At a high school party, Strickland broke one victim's nose, jaw, and knocked out teeth requiring multiple reconstructive surgeries, resulting in two felony GBI charges.
55 years unsolved
Joyce LePage's murder has remained unsolved for 55 years despite active investigation from the start.
Mark's mental institution history
Joyce's own letter revealed that Mark Wadley had once stayed at a mental institution for trying to strangle people — a detail investigators apparently never followed up on.
