Norman Afzal Simons
Encyclopedia
Norman Avzal Simons, also known as the "Station Strangler", is a South Africa
n rapist
and serial killer
who was convicted in 1995 on one count of murder and one count of kidnapping Elroy van Rooy, age 10. He was sentenced to 35 years (25 for murder and 10 for kidnapping) in prison.
Simons was an intelligent individual, playing classical music and capable of speaking seven languages including English, Afrikaans
, Xhosa and French
. He was employed as a Grade 5 teacher at Alpine Primary School in East Ridge, Mitchell's Plain
. Simons’ victims were all young boys aged between 9 and 13. Simons and his victims were all mixed race from the Cape Malays
community.
Simons is believed to have started his sporadic series of murders in October 1986, culminating in his arrest eight years later in 1994. He collected his moniker after it became apparent that most of his victims were lured away from train stations (similar modus operandi to Andrei Chikatilo
).
Simons raped and sodomised his victims before strangling them. Victims were found face down with their hands tied behind their backs in shallow sandy graves. The victims' underwear was occasionally found around their necks, presumably used as a garrote. Hand-written notes were also found next to some victims. Simons' relationship with his older stepbrother seems to have a major bearing in his criminal activities. Simons alleges that his older stepbrother raped and sodomised him as a youngster. He also reports ‘hearing voices‘ from his brother instructing him to kill. Simons' brother, an alcoholic rastafarian
, was murdered in 1991.
Simons appeared before magistrates in 1995 on one charge of murder and kidnap. His trial lasted three months, leading to a conviction and life sentence. He is currently serving his sentence in Drakenstein Maximum Correctional Facility, Paarl
. Simons appealed his conviction in 1998, but his conviction was upheld.
In 2005, an inquest was opened into the deaths of the remaining victims. After three years of further analysis, the victims' parents came no closer to an answer. On 9 December 2008, Regional Magistrate Marelize Rolle stated that she believed prima facie evidence showed Simons was probably responsible for the deaths of at least six of the other victims. However, due to the time lapse, she ruled out further prosecutions in the case.
Note on name: Norman Simons converted to Islam in 1993, taking on the name Avzal, but converted back to Christianity in 1994.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n rapist
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who was convicted in 1995 on one count of murder and one count of kidnapping Elroy van Rooy, age 10. He was sentenced to 35 years (25 for murder and 10 for kidnapping) in prison.
Simons was an intelligent individual, playing classical music and capable of speaking seven languages including English, Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
, Xhosa and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. He was employed as a Grade 5 teacher at Alpine Primary School in East Ridge, Mitchell's Plain
Mitchell's Plain
Mitchells Plain is a largely coloured township about 20 km from the city of Cape Town. It is one of South Africa's largest townships. It is located on the Cape Flats on the False Bay coast between Strandfontein and Khayelitsha...
. Simons’ victims were all young boys aged between 9 and 13. Simons and his victims were all mixed race from the Cape Malays
Cape Malays
The Cape Malay community is an ethnic group or community in South Africa. It derives its name from the present-day Western Cape of South Africa and the people originally from Maritime Southeast Asia, mostly Javanese from modern-day Indonesia, a Dutch colony for several centuries, and Dutch...
community.
Simons is believed to have started his sporadic series of murders in October 1986, culminating in his arrest eight years later in 1994. He collected his moniker after it became apparent that most of his victims were lured away from train stations (similar modus operandi to Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer, nicknamed the Butcher of Rostov, The Red Ripper or The Rostov Ripper who murdered a minimum of 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990...
).
Simons raped and sodomised his victims before strangling them. Victims were found face down with their hands tied behind their backs in shallow sandy graves. The victims' underwear was occasionally found around their necks, presumably used as a garrote. Hand-written notes were also found next to some victims. Simons' relationship with his older stepbrother seems to have a major bearing in his criminal activities. Simons alleges that his older stepbrother raped and sodomised him as a youngster. He also reports ‘hearing voices‘ from his brother instructing him to kill. Simons' brother, an alcoholic rastafarian
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
, was murdered in 1991.
Simons appeared before magistrates in 1995 on one charge of murder and kidnap. His trial lasted three months, leading to a conviction and life sentence. He is currently serving his sentence in Drakenstein Maximum Correctional Facility, Paarl
Paarl
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...
. Simons appealed his conviction in 1998, but his conviction was upheld.
In 2005, an inquest was opened into the deaths of the remaining victims. After three years of further analysis, the victims' parents came no closer to an answer. On 9 December 2008, Regional Magistrate Marelize Rolle stated that she believed prima facie evidence showed Simons was probably responsible for the deaths of at least six of the other victims. However, due to the time lapse, she ruled out further prosecutions in the case.
Note on name: Norman Simons converted to Islam in 1993, taking on the name Avzal, but converted back to Christianity in 1994.