Louis van Schoor
Louis van Schoor | |
|---|---|
Van Schoor photographed for an interview by the BBC in 2024 | |
| Born | Sybrand Jacobus Lodewikus van Schoor 1951 |
| Died | (aged 72) East London, South Africa |
| Other names | "The Apartheid Killer" |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Motive | White supremacy |
| Convictions | Murder (7 counts) Attempted murder (2 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | 20 years imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 9–39 |
Span of crimes | 1986–1989 |
| Country | South Africa |
Sybrand Jacobus Lodewikus "Louis" van Schoor (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈsibrant jaˈkuəbœs luədəˈvikœs fɑn ˈskuər], 1951 – 25 July 2024), known as the Apartheid Killer, was a South African mass killer, policeman, and security guard who committed murders between 1986 and 1989.[1] He was arrested in 1991 and convicted of seven murders and two attempted murders but was released on parole in 2004.[2] It is believed that the total number of his victims was 39, all of them in East London, South Africa. Thirty-two of the killings were described as "justifiable homicides" by police, while Schoor himself insisted that his victims were "criminals" whom he had caught in the act.[3]
Schoor died from sepsis to his leg on 25 July 2024, at the age of 72.[3]
Louis van Schoor was the father of Sabrina van Schoor, who was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for hiring a hitman to murder her mother in 2002.[2] Both were incarcerated in Fort Glamorgan prison before Louis van Schoor's release in 2004.[2][4] Many black people celebrated Sabrina van Schoor for killing her mother, whom one of Sabrina's former boyfriends had described as "very arrogant and racist."[5]
Before he died in 2024, the BBC broadcast a four-year investigation by Isa Jacobsen as part of "World of Secrets. "The Apartheid Killer" was presented by Ayanda Charlie and Charlie Northcott in August 2024.[6] Van Schoor is quoted as saying "I’ve got no remorse inside because I don’t feel that I was wrong." The programme includes allegations that the police colluded in his crimes.[7] He had reported each death to the police and some who survived testified that he had toyed with them while needlessly attacking them.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "Mass killer Louis van Schoor tells BBC of police collusion". BBC News. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Serial killer freed after 12 years in prison". Online-Artikel (in German). 31 October 2004. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Mass killer dies as victims still demand justice". BBC News. 26 July 2024.
- ^ Holland, Heidi (23 October 2004). "Blood ties". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ "My racist mother had to die | The Guardian | guardian.co.uk". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ "World of Secrets". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ Metelerkamp, Tamsin (14 August 2024). "The Apartheid Killer — bringing a dark chapter of SA's history into the light". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ "Mass killer Louis van Schoor tells BBC of police collusion". BBC News. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
External links
- BBC News Africa (21 July 2024). The Apartheid Killer: Exposing the ghosts of South Africa’s past - BBC Africa Eye documentary. Retrieved 9 September 2024 – via YouTube.