Jimmy Maketta was born in 1964 or 1965 in South Africa, a nation still grappling with the legacies of apartheid and deep socio-economic inequality during his formative years. Details of his early life are sparse, but available records and court documents suggest he experienced a childhood marked by instability, poverty, and violence — conditions that contributed to behavioral problems and criminal tendencies from a young age.

By adulthood, Maketta had developed a reputation as a violent and dangerous man. He was known to local authorities and had previous encounters with the criminal justice system, including charges related to assault and theft. However, these earlier offenses did not predict the scale and brutality of the crimes he would later commit. According to psychiatric evaluations presented during his trial, Maketta exhibited signs of psychopathy, including a lack of empathy, manipulative behavior, and an absence of remorse. A state-appointed psychiatrist explicitly described him as a “psychopath”, capable of planning and executing violent acts without moral hesitation.

By the mid-2000s, South Africa was facing significant challenges with violent crime, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas around Cape Town. It was within this environment that Maketta began his killing spree, targeting some of society’s most vulnerable individuals: migrant farm laborers. These workers, often poor, isolated, and living in precarious conditions, became easy targets for a predator who knew the terrain and how to evade law enforcement.

From April to December 2005, Jimmy Maketta launched a brutal series of attacks near Philippi, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. His method was calculated and predatory. Almost exclusively, he struck on Friday evenings, timing his assaults for when seasonal farm workers were returning to their informal settlements after a week’s labor. He would position himself on a hillside overlooking the paths used by these workers, ambushing victims as they passed.

Maketta’s attacks followed a horrifyingly consistent pattern. He would stalk, overpower, and sexually assault his victims — many of whom were male farm laborers — before killing them through bludgeoning, stabbing, or beating. In some cases, he used rocks or blunt instruments he found at the scene. Most of the victims were found in isolated or semi-rural areas, making investigation and identification difficult. This pattern of targeting vulnerable individuals, coupled with the regularity of his attacks, earned him media attention and the nickname “The Capeman Killer.”

During this eight-month period, Maketta killed 16 people and raped 19 others. The brutality of the crimes shocked South Africa and underscored the vulnerability of migrant and seasonal workers — a demographic often overlooked by law enforcement. Police investigations intensified as the number of victims grew, with authorities eventually launching one of the largest manhunts in Cape Town’s history.

Maketta was finally arrested in December 2005 after investigators linked him to several of the crime scenes through forensic evidence and witness statements. Once in custody, he confessed to many of the murders and rapes, often providing chillingly detailed accounts of how he selected and attacked his victims. The prosecution’s case was further strengthened by psychiatric evaluations that diagnosed him as a psychopath, highlighting his lack of remorse and his ability to meticulously plan his crimes.

In 2007, Maketta pleaded guilty to 16 counts of murder and 19 counts of rape. His guilty plea spared the victims’ families from lengthy court proceedings and allowed the state to present the full scope of his crimes without contest. The court sentenced him to multiple life terms, ensuring that he would spend the remainder of his life in prison.