Pierre Basson
Pierre Corneille Faculys Basson (1880 – January 22, 1906) was a serial killer in Cape Colony. He murdered and buried at least nine people in his backyard in Claremont, Cape Town, so he could later claim their life insurance payout. When police officers arrived at his house, he shot himself.[1]
Pierre Basson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pierre Corneille Faculys Basson 1880 |
| Died | January 22, 1906 (aged 25–26) Claremont, Cape Town, Cape Colony |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Details | |
| Victims | 9 |
Span of crimes | 1903–1906 |
| Country | Cape Colony |
Early life
Basson, the oldest of four siblings, was born in the Claremont suburb of Cape Town in 1880. At a young age, he began hurting animals for pleasure. He tortured birds to death and cut off cats' feet to watch them suffer. When he was 12, he sliced a boy with a knife. Afterwards, he stopped committing violent offenses for a number of years, but gained a reputation as a petty theft—which caused issues at home.[2]
When Pierre was 18, his father passed away. In addition to becoming the head of the household, he received a small amount of money from his family's insurance company.[2]
Murders
As an adult, Basson lent money to people. Borrowers had to name him as beneficiary for their life insurance policies, after which he killed them between 13 February 1903, until 22 January 1906, to claim the money.
Basson's first victim was his brother Jasper, who drowned on a fishing trip on February 4, 1903. Jasper's body was never found and the insurance company initially did not want to pay the policy until they were ordered by a court to do so.
He took his own life when the police uncovered the grave of his last victim, Wilhelm Schaefer (a German farmer). His last words to his mother when the police started excavations in their yard were: "I'm going to go to the police. I did not do anything wrong."
He was posthumously convicted of murder after 1906.[3]
References
- HAT Taal-en-feitegids, Pearson, December 2013, ISBN 978-1-77578-243-8
- Geldenhuys, Kotie (1 December 2016). "Crime series - the Cape Town insurance killer". Servamus. 109 (12) – via Sabinet.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - (in English) Murdering for money, Pierre Basson: 1903, besoek op 19 November 2016