Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode
Christopher Zikode | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode 1975 |
| Other names | Donnybrook Serial Killer |
| Criminal penalty | 140 years (5 life sentences) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 18 |
Span of crimes | 1994–1995 |
| Country | South Africa |
Date apprehended | 29 September 1995 |
Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode is a South African rapist and serial killer who was convicted in 1995 on eight[1] counts of murder, 5 counts of rape, 5 counts of attempted murder and 2 counts of indecent assault. Zikode is, however, considered responsible for at least 18 murders and 11 attempted murders.[2]
Criminal career
Zikode terrorised the small, rural South African town of Donnybrook, KwaZulu-Natal. Over the course of two years, Zikode attacked households as well as single women traversing rural terrain. His typical modus operandi was to force entry into a household and shoot all male members of the family. He would then take the remaining woman/women into nearby fields or plantations and rape them repeatedly, on occasion for more than five hours.[2] Uncooperative victims would be shot before he proceeded to commit necrophilia.
Zikode was eventually arrested on 29 September 1995. He was sentenced on 7 January 1997 to 140 years in prison. Zikode had been arrested for the first time in July 1995 for the attempted murder of Beauty Zulu. While on bail he is known to have committed further crimes including one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.[2]
Zikode was convicted with the assistance of South African psychologist and criminal profiler Micki Pistorius.