Themba Vilakazi

Themba "666" Vilakazi (born 1981–1982), also known as The Railway Killer, is a South African serial killer and satanist who murdered at least three black males along the railways of Pretoria between July and November 2005. His modus operandi typically consisted of undressing his victims, excessively stabbing them to the point of death, and taking their shoes. Although he claimed the murders were motivated by satanism, experts disputed this and alleged that they were sexually motivated.

In 2013, he was arrested for a rape he committed the previous year, and was subsequently connected to the murders through DNA. Two years later, he pleaded guilty to three murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment as well as an additional 36 years.

Personal life Vilakazi was born between 1981 and 1982 in Soshanguve. Little is known about his childhood. He dropped out of school in grade 10, was not married, did not have any children, and was unemployed at the time of his arrest.

On 23 July 2005, another body was found beside train tracks at the Belle Ombre Plaza. The victim, an unknown man, died from 54 stab wounds to the chest, back, and arm. The victim's clothes had been found at the scene, but not on him, and there had been no stab wounds through the clothes. His shoes were also missing. The phrase "7 left" was written in red on a sleeper next to the body. At the time, detectives were uncertain whether the message was written by the perpetrator or if it was unrelated to the case.

On 11 August 2005, Vilakazi stabbed Michael Mokaba, another black man, 24 times in the neck and top-left chest, killing him.

Vilakazi was charged with the unidentified man's murder, Mokaba's murder, and Masango's murder. He entered a guilty plea, stating, "there are two kinds of people on Earth; those bearing the mark of the lamb, and those with the beast's sign. I receive instructions from the beast on who to kill. I received instructions from the underworld to kill the three people which I then complied with." At court, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for Masango's murder and 18 years each for the adults' murders. The judge also ordered him to attend psychotherapy and a sex offender programme in prison.