Aubrey Masango speaks to Nicole Engelbrecht, a true crime writer, author and host of South Africa’s most popular true-crime podcast, ‘True Crime South Africa’.
In April 2009, Harmse pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
But 14 years after the murderous act, Harmse was let out on parole in 2022.
Engelbrecht details how the teenage boy’s fantasy to make people ‘take notice’ was something which had been brewing for over a year,
Morné had been planning this for at least a year.
Nicole Engelbrecht, True crime writer, author and podcast host
Her book ‘Samurai Sword Murder’, takes a deep dive into the intricate details of this brutal tragedy and why the perpetrator did it.
Harmse brutally slashed four pupils and killed one, of 16-year-old Jacques Pretorius, who died on the scene.
He carried out the murders wearing a mask inspired by the heavy metal band Slipknot and claimed that Satan had ordered him to carry out the killings.
But after taking a closer look, it seemed Harmse had an innate emotional instability that runs rampant in other types of school killers across the world, says Engelbrecht.
It was sort of a consequence of emotional instability that already existed within him…he looked at this as a way of almost making a name for himself…
Nicole Engelbrecht, True crime writer, author and podcast host
Doing something that would, perhaps in a negative way, he would become somebody.
Nicole Engelbrecht, True crime writer, author and podcast host
Listen to the full audio above for more.
