Lazarus Mazingane

Lazarus Tshidiso Mazingane (born 1973), also known as The Nasrec serial killer, is a South African serial killer who murdered at least 16 people.

Early life In 1973, Mazingane was born in Kroonstad Prison to his mother, who was serving a five-year sentence for prostitution and distributing cannabis. He felt shameful because he was born in prison, and developed a hatred for his mother. After she was released, she got married, became an alcoholic, and continued to distribute cannabis. Mazingane was raised in Brits by his grandmother.

He attended Diepkloof High School, where he met his future wife. Once they got married, Lazarus began to abuse her physically and emotionally. He often tied her to the bed and forced her to watch him have sex with other women. During an argument, he fired at his wife with his gun, causing her to finally leave him. Enraged, he went to her parents' home—where she had been staying—kidnapped her, assaulted her, and drove her back to her parents' house, where he threw her out of his taxi onto the pavement. After telling her mother, "take back your fucking bitch," he dashed into the home and shot at his parent-in-laws. However, his mother-in-law managed to scare him away. His wife refused to press charges.

Crimes

Serial murders Between March 1995 and April 1998, Mazingane robbed, raped, and murdered at least 14 women and girls around the Gauteng province. Despite his moniker, his victims were found all around the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, not just Nasrec.

A taxi driver, he drove his victims to work in the morning and drove them back home in the afternoon. This process would continue for a while, up to months—until the afternoon of the murder. On that day, he would make a detour into a secluded veld, pull his victim out of the minibus and demand that she lie down on her stomach. If the victim refused, he would threaten her at knifepoint. He would then rape the victim before strangling her with the straps of her own handbag, panties, or her belt. He would often take one shoe off his victim and place it next to her body. He also stole rings and earrings from some victims and gifted them to his then girlfriend.

Motorist attacks In the midst of his main killing spree, Mazingane began kidnapping, raping, maiming, and murdering motorists along highways in the Nasrec area.

On a Sunday afternoon in June 1996, a young married couple drove over sharp rocks in their bakkie, causing them to pull over under a bridge. Mazingane then approached them and forced the husband to move over to the passenger seat. He ordered the wife to sit on her husband's back, while their baby stayed in a car seat in the back. Mazingane drove to a veld, dragged the couple out of the vehicle, instructed the husband to sit on his own knees, and raped the man's wife as their baby loudly cried. In the end, he decided to let the family live, but threatened to kill them if they reported the crime. Afterwards, he removed the baby from bakkie and drove off in it. The family was later found at the roadside and taken to a nearby police station. They told detectives that they saw a second man watching them from a distance, leading investigators to question if the attacker had an accomplice. The DNA from the perpetrator's semen was tested, and it immediately matched to the Nasrec serial killer.

Two forensic psychologists, including Micki Pistorius, made a profile of the killer. They classified him as an organised lust killer. Their profile stated that the killer was a man in late twenties to early thirties, since most of his victims were that age; that he was attractive, charismatic, and sociable—the type of personality that would appeal to middle-class women; and that he was intelligent and manipulative. It also stated that he likely had a deep hatred toward women and would desire total submission from women. Lastly, he was likely a frequent taxi passenger or even a taxi driver.

Victims