Stephanus Swart

Stephanus Swart
Born 1890
Died 6 May 1927
Cause of death
 Suicide
Occupation Farmer
Spouse(s) Annie Eksteen
Killings
Date 6 May 1927
Location(s) Potters Hill and Charlestown, South Africa
Target(s) Police and Annie Eksteen
Killed 8
Injured 3
Weapons

Stephanus Andries Johannes Swart (1890 - 6 May 1927) was a South African farmer and spree killer who killed at least 8 people and wounded 3 others in Charlestown, South Africa on 6 May 1927, before committing suicide.

Police pursued Swart one day after he fired a shot at his neighbour, Mr. Lourens, on 3 May 1927 for no apparent reason. At some point Swart decided to tell another man to write down his 28 page suicide statement after setting his own car on fire and hiking 10 miles to his farm house.

Swart was confronted by a police constable in the early hours of 6 May at his home with a letter to give himself up. Swart gave a reply that he simply wanted an oak coffin and he wanted it to be zinc lined and he would shoot anyone to come through the road running near his property after 6:00PM. The constable, alarmed by this reply immediately started to gather a posse of 12 police officers to arrest him the next day. Swart killed 5 officers and wounded another near his farm, taking one's revolver and horse and went to a neighbour's house to tell him that he intended to go into Charlestown to kill 3 more people before going to Volkrust to kill himself. His neighbour departed to warn police of Swart's coming. His neighbour, Swanepoel, when nearing Mount Prospect, was approached by a black person with a note from Swart saying he would return to kill him after he completed his "mission." By now Swart had killed another 2 people on the road who had testified against him in a previous crime in which he was convicted and sentenced to several months in prison for incest. Swart arrived in Charlestown across from the train station at a house where his enstranged wife was living. Swart gunned down his wife, then rode his stolen horse to the edge of town and fired at a passing automobile, wounding the driver and a passenger. At this point police all over the district had been notified and had formed a posse of local farmers along with police to hunt him down. Swart was spotted diving into a ditch after an officer fired at him. A final shot was heard, as Swart had killed himself with the stolen Webley Revolver.

Victims

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