What began as an assignment abroad ended in tragedy inside a hotel room in Japan.

Ayana Noir examines a case that tested military jurisdiction, international law, and the limits of trust between two people far from home.

🎧 Listen on Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts

References

• Stars and Stripes — Injury details, autopsy summary, plea hearing testimony.

• Navy Times — Sentencing, plea agreement, restitution, promotion history.

• Military.com — Jurisdiction overview, trial coordination, NCIS statements.

• WBNG Local News — Community reaction, family quotes.

• Flynn Funeral Home Obituary — Verified biographical information on Jessica Arguinzoni Olsen.

Family is supposed to be where you’re safest.
In Roberta Elder’s house, it was where the dying started.

Was it mercy, madness… or murder?

🎙️ Documented 187 – Episode 008: Family, Enemy, or Both?

References

• African American Intellectual History Society — TheCase of a Black Woman Serial Killer
• Criminalia Podcast — “Roberta Elder, Atlanta’s RareBlack Female Serial Killer”
• Alexis Lyons, Medium — “Roberta Elder: Black Widow”
• SKDB — Roberta Elder entry
• Oconee Enterprise (2024): “Serial killer rests inWatkinsville…”
• Find A Grave — Roberta Elder
• psychopathperspectives.com- Roberta Elder (Photo)

This podcast covers real-life cases involving murder, sexual violence, and suicide. Some details may be disturbing or triggering to listeners. Discretion is strongly advised.

Today, we step into South Africa’s shadows—where opportunity became the perfect snare. Between 1994 and 1995, women searching for work were lured into the veld by the promise of jobs. What they found was terror, orchestrated by Moses Sithole, one of South Africa’s most infamous killers.

From the desperate hope of interviews to taunting phone calls and a sentence that stretched across centuries, this is the story of the “ABC Murders.”

✨ Slide into the shadows with Ayana Noir.

Follow Documented 187:
Instagram → @documented187
YouTube → youtube.com/@documented187
Spotify → open.spotify.com/show/6a3pd6LCVvuYuJ8hwDwtPp

References:

• BBC News. “South Africa Serial Killer Jailed.” BBC News, 5 Dec 1997.

• Mail & Guardian. “Sithole Gets 2 410 Years.” Mail & Guardian, 6 Dec 1997.

• Shaw, Mark. Crime and Policing in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Indiana University Press, 2002.

• Gordin, Jeremy. A Lifetime of Violence: The Story of South African Serial Killer Moses Sithole. Ashanti Publishing, 1997.

• Smith, David. “Sithole’s Sentence and South Africa’s Serial Killers.” The Guardian, 1997.

• South African Press Association (SAPA). Court coverage and trial reporting, 1995–1997.

• Johannesburg High Court Records, Republic of South Africa v. Moses Sithole, Case Files (1997).