Prosecutor's shock admission

OrbitalDawn

OrbitalDawn

Ulysses Everett McGill
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A startling admission on a Cape Town radio station yesterday that the notorious "Station Strangler" had been convicted on flimsy evidence almost 20 years ago has left the family of at least one of his victims distraught and confused.

The prosecutor in the 1995 case, Mike Stowe, called 567 Cape Talk Radio during a programme in which the possibility of former Mitchells Plain teacher Norman Simons - the man convicted of being the Station Strangler - being paroled was being discussed.

He poked holes in the case he had presented in the Cape Town High Court. The Station Strangler unleashed a reign of terror on the Cape Flats between 1986 and 1994. The decomposing bodies of 22 young boys were found face down in shallow graves, sodomised, their hands tied behind their backs.

Simons was linked to the murders but was convicted only of the killing of nine-year-old Elroy van Rooyen. He was sentenced to 35 years in jail.

"I have been listening with interest over the past week about the Simons case and I just want to say a few things," said Stowe.

"We started off the case with the investigating officer telling us 'We've got the guy.' The case was thin and we had one eyewitness.

"She [the eyewitness] received a reward of R250000 but what was striking about her evidence was that she drew up an Identikit [picture] for the police and if you recall there was this Identikit of the Station Strangler in newspapers with a large wig or Afro," he said.

Stowe said the picture of Simons the prosecution had did not match the Identikit picture.

He said it had been established that Simons was in a library in Claremont at 2.30pm on the day Elroy went missing and it was improbable he could have got to Strand railway station by 4pm.

He said no one testified to having seen either Elroy or Simons on a train. Simons was convicted on a confession he later withdrew.

"I believe that had Simons testified that he had been talking nonsense in the confession the trial would have had a much different outcome," said Stowe.

The family of one of Simons's former students, Neville Samaai, who was found dead in 1994, was shattered by Stowe's admission.

His sister, Jean, said the real killer might still be on the loose.

"This is shocking. It pierces my heart," she said. " Why is he only saying this now?"

Forensic scientist David Klatzow said Stowe had failed in his duties by not telling Simons's defence team about his concerns regarding the evidence.

"His failure to do so was a dereliction of duty," Klatzow said.
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Interesting. How many of murders of the same modus operandi were committed after his conviction? I wonder.
 
I actually read an article on this a couple of months ago. Apparently the NP pushed for an arrest in this case in order to win the coloured vote of Mitchells Plain back in the 90s. Also similiar murders were found after Simons arrest
 
Watched a documentary on fox crime about this guy and I reckon they got the wrong guy, things don't add up and there were more murders after he was locked up.
 
surprise surprise another police fsuck up. how is this guy allowed to do this though. isn't it against the law to utter stuff like this?
 
akescpt said:
surprise surprise another police fsuck up. how is this guy allowed to do this though. isn't it against the law to utter stuff like this?
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Yip. Looks like the police was a "fsuck up" since the early 90s
 
Seriously said:
Took a few years for the cANCer to fully infiltrate.
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but long enough after that event that by then policies were in the making, and people were disgruntled, coz they had to train other, enabling those to take over their jobs...

Listening to stories from then adults it is very clear that there were serious tentions within less than 6 months.
 
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