5. The trial

The reckoning of Louis van Schoor. Can justice be done or would he be cleared of the killings? This is the inside story of what was one of South Africa’s biggest criminal trials – van Schoor faces multiple charges of murder. We hear the original audio tapes from the courtroom. The police said that he was justified in using maximum force.

Since this episode was recorded, it has been announced that Louis van Schoor died, on 25 July 2024. There will be more about this in the final episode. This was a four-year investigation and the interviews with Louis van Schoor were recorded in 2022 and 2023.

Please note, this episode of World of Secrets includes descriptions of violence, which some listeners may find distressing.

Season 3 of World of Secrets is a collaboration with the BBC World Service investigations unit, Africa Eye. Here’s a link to the BBC Africa Eye film, which we recommend you watch after listening to this podcast: https://youtu.be/QPB42_uLLh0

If you are in the UK, you can watch on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021dvm

Presenters: Ayanda Charlie and Charlie Northcott

Original investigation by Isa Jacobsen and Charlie Northcott

Researcher: Maddy Drury

Production coordinator: Katie Morrison

Field production: Isa Jacobsen

Mixing: James Beard

Sound design: Jez Spencer

Original music by Anna Papadimitriou

Series Producer: Jim Frank

Series Editor: Matt Willis

Commissioning Senior Producer: Anne Dixey

Commissioning Editor: Jon Manel