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MURDER: Thabo Bester: The Facebook Rapist and the Doctor Who Helped Him Escape Prison

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

Release Date: 09/30/2025

[It's Florida, Man: Toes] (Previously a Bonus Episode)

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

This episode was originally released as a bonus for subscribers and is now available on the main feed for all listeners. If you want to get more episodes like this (three bonus episodes per month) check-out patreon.com/momsandmysteriespodcast, or Apple + and Spotify's Bonus episodes. Enjoy! Be back on January 1st for a brand-new episode! From the original episode: If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a Disney cast member, a Craigslist ad, an Orlando Magic cheerleader, and a man with a toe-related fantasy collide inside a perfectly normal Orlando townhouse, well, you might also be...

The Murder of Lauren Burk (Revisited)

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

This week, we are revisiting our most downloaded episode of the year: the heartbreaking case of Lauren Burk. In March 2008, the brutal murder of this 18-year-old Auburn University student shattered a community and left a family searching for answers in a case that is as tragic as it is controversial. Lauren was a bright, promising freshman who was abducted at gunpoint from her campus, robbed, and shot before she bravely jumped from a moving car in a desperate attempt to save her life. Her story is one of unimaginable terror, but also of incredible courage in her final moments. ...

[Wrongful Conviction] The Ten-Minute Murder: The Wrongful Conviction of Oscar Slater

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

In 1908 Glasgow, 82-year-old Marion Gilchrist was brutally murdered in her home during a ten-minute window while her maid was out. There was no forced entry, and the only thing missing was a single diamond brooch. The police quickly zeroed in on Oscar Slater, a German-Jewish immigrant with a gambling habit, and built a case around him with flimsy evidence and coached witnesses. Despite a weak case, Slater was convicted and sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to life in prison. After a nearly 20-year fight for justice, championed by Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,...

NXIVM: Justice + Allison After NXIVM (Part 2)

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

The polished facade of NXIVM has shattered, and in Part 2, we take you inside the federal courthouse where its leaders finally face justice. We explore the harrowing trial of Keith Raniere, built on the brave testimony of the women who escaped his control. From the secret master-slave sorority known as DOS to the shocking details of branding, blackmail, and psychological abuse, the full truth of the cult is laid bare. We cover the verdicts, the sentences, and the downfall of the man who called himself “Vanguard.” But what happens after the headlines fade? To discuss the case’s complex...

NXIVM: The Promise of Empowerment (Part 1)

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

Imagine thinking you signed up for a self-improvement course, only to wake up inside a secret hierarchy where starvation, blackmail, and branding were sold as empowerment. This is the story of NXIVM, the so-called leadership program that unraveled into one of the most disturbing criminal enterprises in modern history. In Part 1, we pull back the curtain on how Keith Raniere, a man who called himself "Vanguard," and his partner Nancy Salzman built a multi-million dollar empire on the promise of human potential. We explore the early days of their Executive Success Programs (ESP), the...

The Impossible Murder of Julia Wallace

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

In 1931 Liverpool, a bizarre phone call sent William Herbert Wallace on a wild goose chase across the city. The caller, a man named "Qualtrough," had left a message for him at his chess club, asking him to meet at a non-existent address. When William returned home, he found his wife, Julia, brutally murdered in their parlor. The house was locked, there were no signs of forced entry, and the timeline seemed impossibly tight. Police immediately suspected William, believing the phone call was a ruse to create a fake alibi. He was quickly arrested, tried, and convicted, only to have...

The Body in the Basement: The Murder of James Carroll

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

When police responded to a domestic dispute call at a Victorian home in Louisville, Kentucky, they stumbled into a house of horrors. The fight between lovers Jeffrey Mundt and Joseph Banis led them to a gruesome discovery in the basement: the body of James Carroll, who had been stabbed and shot, his body hidden inside an airtight container buried beneath the floor. The investigation unraveled a dark story of a love triangle fueled by meth, jealousy, and counterfeit cash. As Jeffrey and Joseph turned on each other, each painting the other as the mastermind, detectives were left to...

Project X: The Birthday Party That Caused a Riot

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

In 2012, a 16-year-old girl in a quiet Dutch town made a simple mistake: she accidentally set her Facebook birthday party invitation to “public.” Within days, the invite went viral, attracting tens of thousands of RSVPs and becoming known online as “Project X Haren.” While the birthday girl and her family fled, thousands of strangers descended on the small town, ready to party. What started as a digital joke quickly spiraled into a real-world riot. Fireworks, flipped cars, and clashes with police turned the night into a scene of chaos that made international headlines. This...

The Rooftop Robber: The Wild Story of Jeffrey Manchester

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

In 1998, a polite and oddly courteous criminal known as "Roofman" began a crime spree across nine states, targeting mostly McDonald's restaurants. Jeffrey Manchester, a former Army paratrooper, would cut holes in the roofs of buildings, wait for employees to arrive, and then rob them at gunpoint—after politely telling them to grab a jacket before locking them in the freezer. After being caught and sentenced to 45 years, he escaped prison by hiding under a truck. For six months, he lived inside the walls of a Toys "R" Us in Charlotte, North Carolina, surviving on baby food and...

Nicole Sanchez: A Sister's Fight for Justice

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

In September 1999, 17-year-old Nicole Sanchez was a talented singer with a contagious laugh and big dreams of becoming a veterinary assistant. But her life was brutally cut short by her 23-year-old boyfriend, Lionel Villarreal, in a horrifying act of intimate partner violence. After just four months of dating, Nicole had decided to end the controlling relationship. That weekend, she was shot and killed. Lionel claimed it was a suicide, but the evidence told a different story. The single gunshot wound was a deliberate, humiliating act of aggression. He was convicted of second-degree...

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The official story was that convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester died in a South African prison fire on May 3, 2022, but the truth was far more shocking: he had faked his own death with a stolen corpse and easily walked out of a maximum security prison.

Known as "The Facebook Rapist" for luring women with fake international modeling opportunities, Bester was serving a 30-year sentence for the rape and robbery of two women and the murder of his girlfriend, Nomfundo Tyhulu, in 2011.

In this episode, we unravel the chaotic details of his escape and his life on the run:

The Fake Death: An investigation into the cell fire and the burned remains raised immediate suspicion. The body used to stage his death was later confirmed to have died before the fire from blunt force trauma to the head, and DNA did not match Bester .
The Accomplice: Dr. Nandipha Magudumana (Dr. Nandi): Celebrity physician Dr. Nandi, who claimed to be Bester's customary law wife, was his essential partner in crime. She initially collected the body and was later spotted shopping with Bester, aiding his life as a fugitive. She is a glamorous doctor who had it all, but chose a criminal life as a "cold-blooded accomplice".
Life as a Fugitive: Before his escape was confirmed, Bester was running multiple scam companies from prison. After walking out, he continued his fraudulent schemes with Dr. Nandi, meeting clients and living in a rented mansion until their arrest in Tanzania in April 2023.

This incredible true crime saga is also the subject of the Netflix docuseries, Beauty and the Bester.

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