Anni Dewani: Honeymoon Murder and the Corruption at the Heart of South Africa

Anni Dewani Honeymoon Murder and the Corruption at the Heart of South Africa

[NEW] Kyle: [00:00:00] You've got a country presenting this illusion that crime is no longer an issue to tourists. But Adam, just five days later, Annie's body would be found in the back of an abandoned taxi on the edge of a township. It looked very much like this man had brought his new wife to South Africa to have her killed as a way for him to escape this arranged marriage.

Adam Cox: And are we saying that he was a closeted homosexual?

[NEW] Kyle: That is what the South African police are trying to say, but Adam Sharon was found not guilty. Did they miss a crucial opportunity to find justice for Annie and her family or. Was this an attempt to pin the murder on a foreign national in order to protect South African tourism?

Adam Cox: But if they're the 82nd most corrupt country in the world, I wouldn't put it past them.

[00:01:00]

[NEW] Kyle: Welcome to the Compendium, an Assembly of fascinating things, a weekly variety podcast that gives you just enough information to stand your ground at any social gathering.

Adam: We explore stories from the darker corners of true crime, the hidden gems of history, and the jaw dropping deeds of extraordinary people.

[NEW] Kyle: I'm Kyle Reese, your ring master for this week's episode.

Adam: And I'm Adam Cox. Your stand-in dolphin for this week.

[NEW] Kyle: Where's the dolphins?

Adam: He's off sick. Okay. And so I've had to grab a costume, get in line, and do some tricks.

[NEW] Kyle: Dolphins wear costumes.

Adam: No, but I don't look like a dolphin.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. But you're standing in for a dolphin.

Adam: Yeah, so [00:02:00] I, I've had to put on a dolphin costume. Oh, I see. And I'm swimming and I'm like, jumping through hoops.

[NEW] Kyle: It's,

It's good that we have you on the payroll.

Adam: Exactly. We'd have to refund some tickets.

[NEW] Kyle: We could just get another dolphins right now.

Adam: Nope.

[NEW] Kyle: And where is he? If he's sick, where is he?

Adam: He's out back,

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[NEW] Kyle: What is that? Should I guess? Spanish?

Adam: Yeah. I think that's it. There's also some other words, ent, which I dunno if it's that one, but I like Ingle. Sounds dirty. But yeah, that's my Spanish for the week.

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[NEW] Kyle: So enough of the housekeeping, today on the compendium, we are diving into an assembly of a honeymoon, stained by blood, and a scandal carved into history.

Adam: Ooh. Honeymoon stained by blood. Clearly someone got married and then someone died.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. Sadly. And it's a shocking case we're covering today, Adam. So, you know, to begin with that we've both been to [00:04:00] South Africa. I've taken you to the country of my people. That's right. People, I'm both Italian and South African. When you want to be, when it's convenient. Yeah. When I want to play the South African don't press me card and the I'm too lazy 'cause I'm half Italian, that kind of thing.

Mm-hmm. What did you think of South Africa?

Adam: It was all right. No. Oh, seriously? I really liked it. Not only were the food portions huge. Yeah. But it was, they know to eat. It was a beautiful country.

[NEW] Kyle: That is it definitely. It's the beauty of the country. I mean, you've got Cape Town with Table Mountain towering over the city. You've got the rolling vineyards of Stellenbosch and of course where we've been, the game reserves in the Kruger National Park where we of course went on that famous safari where it was so bloody hot. The only way to keep cool was to tell the driver to just not stop the vehicle. Yeah. Otherwise, because the second it stopped, we were just hit with this wall of just heat

Adam: yeah. But you missed out downtown Johannesburg where we were scared to get out of the car.

[NEW] Kyle: [00:05:00] Where? What do you mean

Adam: downtown

[NEW] Kyle: Johannesburg? He went

Adam: to a museum. I remember like there was like wire fences and stuff like that, wherever we went.

[NEW] Kyle: That's not downtown Johannesburg.

Adam: Oh, was it not?

[NEW] Kyle: No, that was Soweto. That was a, no, that was a township.

Adam: It was somewhere else. Do you mean we went to Santon City maybe? No, no, no. This was, I'm sure we went to Johannesburg to look at a museum. The Apartheid Museum.

[NEW] Kyle: Oh, maybe in Soweto.

Adam: Oh, okay.

[NEW] Kyle: An historic, township in South Africa. It was a while ago. Adam. Trust me. I promise you, if you went into downtown Johannesburg A actually is pretty cool.

They've got the Ponti Tower there as well, which is famously where they, uh, filmed, uh, judge Dread. Oh really? Yeah. They used that same building and basically it's like a donut, but it's a skyscraper. I think at one point it was like the tallest, residential skyscraper in the Southern hemisphere But because it became really run down during the 1990s, a lot of impoverished people moved in and that donut shape in the middle just ended up [00:06:00] becoming just stacked and stacked full of rubbish.

There were rumors that there were bodies hidden in there because a lot of gangs and drug dealers kind of ended up moving in, but. It's now fashionable again and people are now paying top dollar to live in Ponty Tower again. Oh really? If you guys get a moment, definitely Google Ponty Tower in Johannesburg.

It's an iconic building, but make sure that you get to see what's in the center It's just incredible. It's a site to behold. 'cause I'm, I'm wondering like if at some point during the day the sun gets to a point where it's shining down the center of the actual tower itself.

Adam: Like directly above it, I feel like that's probably quite rare.

[NEW] Kyle: yeah. But there must be like one or two times a year where that's probably possible. Mm mm Yeah. But of course Adam, for all its beauty, it is safe to say that South Africa is not a country that you wanna fuck around in because it is dangerous.

It's not like living here in the uk, you most definitely cannot walk out in the streets at night it's not uncommon for houses in South Africa to literally have 12 foot barbed wide fences.

And if you're really [00:07:00] fancy, an electric fence so you'll probably remember as a tourist when we visited some of the rules that you had to follow in order to make sure that you stayed safe Because if you don't, of course someone will actually rob you or even murder you for your Power Rangers backpack, God forbid.

Adam: I know. I I didn't take it out with me. I was too scared.

[NEW] Kyle: What are, what were some of those rules? Do you remember?

Adam: Well, don't get outta your car. Uh, uh, if you're at a ever, not even when you arrive at your destination,

[NEW] Kyle: do not get out.

You

Adam: stay there until you need to go home. No. Um, if you're at a traffic light or something like that, to have your doors locked because people could jump in and, hijack you. Mm-hmm. don't stop in the middle of a road where there is a sign that says hijacking is, yeah. Highly likely.

[NEW] Kyle: Now we, we see these signs where it says, oh, there might be deer around South Africa. You get, oh, there might be some hijackings around.

Adam: And I remember we, we drove past the sign thinking, what? That's really strange. And then we drove past a load of glass on the floor. Yeah. And it was like, oh no, it, it does happen.

[NEW] Kyle: The thing is though, people looking in might [00:08:00] feel like South Africans are just being too paranoid.

But Adam, these rules exist for a reason. South Africa's homicide rate is seven times higher than the USA and 30 times higher than here in the uk. It's also the rape capital of the world.

I remember as a kid, me and my friend Ian, we were playing in this utility field on our BMXs, and we just know it is like a group of domestic workers. They'd all kind of gathered the edge of the field, and then suddenly from this group, one of the men started dragging one of the women in that group into the tall grass. And she was begging him not to. She was crying, she was trying to resist, and he just kept dragging her in.

And me and Ian, we just started freaking out. And the only thing that we knew to do was run to the local petrol station because literally days before it had been robbed at gunpoint. So we knew there was a security guard there, station waiting and guard the place. So we flagged them down, we told them what was going on, they sort of rolled their eyes at us, but they did follow us round the back to take a look.

And then as we approach out of the grass jumps, this guy [00:09:00] frantically pulling up his trousers and he starts sprinting down the road.

Eventually he literally falls in the street because his trousers trip him up. And there in the grass was this woman that he was essentially attacking. Wow. Adam. This was in the middle of the day.

So South Africa is a rough place, make no mistake. And yet as a country, it is just one of the most beautiful, vibrant cultural places in the world. It just so exists in this weird paradox of breathtaking beauty, but also extreme brutality.

Adam: Yeah, like I, I think one of my friends, they went to, uh, Cape Town and they would say, they'd walk along, some promenade, and it would be like really beautiful.

But then just a few streets along you've then got people who are homeless and, it was almost like a side that was made for tourists is what she felt. And then actually deeper as you go along, actually Yeah, there's more to discover.

[NEW] Kyle: That's right. Yeah. And you're probably referring to the townships where a lot of the poor majority of South Africans actually live and call home. [00:10:00] But Adam, the thing is, in 2010, South Africa had a chance to change, this global perception because for the first time in history, the FIFA World Cup was coming to South Africa and it was pegged to be this huge economic opportunity for the country, one that was so important to maintain long after the games had gone.

Right. So in preparation, South Africa undertook one of the largest security operations in its history. They coordinated various ministry departments, including the police, the military intelligence agencies, and basically reformed legal frameworks to be tougher on crime. And albeit obviously a lot of these measures came with a much darker side because thousands of people ended up being displaced in the process.

But in the end, the World Cup went off without a hitch. The games, gave the world the v Venezuela, do you remember that?

Adam: Is that, I wasn't quite sure if it was Argentina that came from, or whatever.

[NEW] Kyle: No, that was South Africa.

Adam: I remember that. Like hearing or watching football matches and you just hear that noise, it's like, what the hell [00:11:00] is that Veela baby?

[NEW] Kyle: And basically the games that showcased our rich culture, and throughout there was just all this excitement and chaos. And in the end, in my opinion, was one of the most memorable World Cups in

Adam: history. Is it because Shakira sang the theme tune

[NEW] Kyle: because Shakira sang the theme tune? That is exactly right, but also I'm extremely proud of my South African kind of heritage, if you will. Heritage is a heritage, my South African dwellings, dwellings, and of course, after the games, as a result, tourism across the country boomed.

People from all over the world were seduced by the, the all law and the culture and the beauty that they were seeing on television.

But Adam, the reality is that when the World Cup finished, this coordinated effort to reduce crime literally just slipped away. As funding ended up drying up, crime started rising again.

The games were essentially just a bandaid and it was now slipping off. Mm-hmm. South Africa is also one of the most corrupt countries on the planet. I think it's like ranked like 82nd on the [00:12:00] global index for corruption. Out of

Adam: how many what? 200 odd,

[NEW] Kyle: well, like 208

Adam: countries. Mm-hmm.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. And this is something that has always been part of its fabric, right?

Ever since I can remember and this goes all the way to the top, you hear stories like the National Police Commissioner and the president of Interpol at the time. He ended up going to prison for taking bribes from drug dealers. In exchange for like confidential police documents.

But even at the street level, a third of all corruption complaints about police involve bribery of some kind. Where like officers will routinely stop motorists for no reason and then like demand a thousand rand in order to let them go. Otherwise they were gonna charge you with something.

Adam: This all sounds pretty bad, but for them to be like 82nd out of all the other countries.

Mm-hmm. Then what are the other countries like?

[NEW] Kyle: Exactly. I think the top one for corruption is like Argentina as you said, I think.

Adam: Really? Okay.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. So you've got the situation of a country basking in this glow of a successor World Cup trying to present this illusion that crime was no longer an issue to tourists.

and It's a problem that South African authorities had to grapple with [00:13:00] firsthand when in November, 2010, just a few months after the World Cup. Reen and Annie Dani arrived in South Africa for their honeymoon, and it was supposed to be the start of their lives together.

But Adam, just five days later, Annie's body would be found in the back of an abandoned taxi on the edge of a township, infamously known for hiss gun violence and poverty. And as this story exploded onto the global stage, South Africa announced that they would be committing to bringing whoever did this to justice to ensure the world that they could be confident that South Africa would not be soft on crime, especially towards its international tourists.

To the relief of the South African authorities. Though they discovered that this wasn't a hijacking gone wrong, they asserted that it was in fact a contract killing ordered by Shirin Ani himself against his wife.

They managed to prove through CCTV footage, phone records, cash, exchanging [00:14:00] hands, and most importantly, the testimonies and confessions of the gunman, that Sheen had contracted to kill his wife.

Have you heard of this story before?

Adam: It springs a bell, to be honest, I forgot that we were talking about like a horror or like a, you thought

[NEW] Kyle: this is a South African history lesson?

Adam: Yeah. You started off with the honeymoon thing and then we just started talking about South Africa for ages, and I just thought, oh, okay,

[NEW] Kyle: I'm just here for the ride. Yeah, I was setting it up. I was trying to paint a picture of how important the tourism industry is to South Africa and how this case when it broke in 2010, rocked that confidence that South Africa was heading in the right direction of reducing its crime, right?

Adam: Mm-hmm. Gotcha. But, I think I remember something on the news about this, yeah, the husband got found out for orchestrating the kill, but I don't really remember much more than that.

[NEW] Kyle: Well, When this story exploded into the world's media, it was literally everywhere, like newspapers, news channels, gossip columns, everyone just seems to be gripped by this.

The story was that a wealthy British man had come to South Africa to [00:15:00] use the country's violent reputation as a cover for the murder of his wife disguised essentially as a hijacking gone wrong.

But the question the world wanted to know Adam, was why the South African authorities claimed that it was because Sherin was gay, and that he wanted to escape his arranged marriage so that he could live his life as a widower without the undue pressure from his family to remarry.

Okay, Adam, I remember when the story broke. It was shocking when Sharon's case finally went to trial, four years later in October, 2014, it became painfully obvious how flawed the prosecution case actually was. Evidence basically wasn't presented. Facts were taken completely outta context, and even basic procedures in forensics simply did not happen in this case. And as a result, Sharon was found not guilty for conspiring to murder his wife.

Adam: Are you telling me that there was a court case where police overlooked some evidence?

[NEW] Kyle: Yes.

Adam: Oh my God, this must be one [00:16:00] of the first things that's ever happened,

[NEW] Kyle: So people, of course, around the world wanted to know why the South African authorities case was so badly put together, Considering that they had four years to prepare. . was this due to incompetence? And as a result, did they miss a crucial opportunity to find justice for Annie and her family?

Adam: I bet the police people were like, yeah, I'll get round to it just now.

[NEW] Kyle: Or was this a poor attempt to pin the murder on a foreign national in order to protect South African tourism? And so, Adam, we finally come to the topic of today's story.

Today on the compendium, I'm gonna tell you about the horrific murder of Annie Ani, the case South African authorities brought against her husband, Shirin Ani, and the possibility that it was never about justice, but a plot to protect the South African brand.

Adam: That was a long ass intro.

[NEW] Kyle: I had to set it up. I had to let you know [00:17:00] about the World Cup and what me and Ian got up to.

Adam: Yeah, that was a little or trip down memory lane.

[NEW] Kyle: Is it too long? Should we cut it in post?

Adam: We'll see. We'll see what stays. Okay.

[NEW] Kyle: But you understand what I'm trying to get at here, right?

This massive story that kind of broke into the press in 2010, it looked very much like on the international stage, that this man had brought his new wife to South Africa to have her killed as a way for him to escape being part of this arranged marriage.

And that's what a lot of people believe even today, because when he was found not guilty, there were serious questions about why they'd foiled this case so badly.

And when you look at the kind of the geopolitical kind of backdrop in which this case took place, it seems like there was a lot of corruption going on and that actually South Africa wanted to protect its tourism industry.

Adam Cox: Well,

if they're the 82nd most corrupt country in the world? I wouldn't put it past them

[NEW] Kyle: exactly. But Adam, I am going to the story a little bit skeptical because I [00:18:00] do not really know for sure whether or not Ani did this or did not contract his wife's murder. When I first read the story, I was 100% convinced that he did it.

But revisiting this years later, i'm probably now maybe 80% sure that he did not do this, but that still leaves 20%.

Adam: Okay. There's quite a big swing.

[NEW] Kyle: And so today, Adam, on this episode, we are gonna recount what happened in the story. We're gonna see if the facts bring us to a different conclusion because you never know. Your insights might make me flip again, and I might go straight back to believing that he did this.

Adam: To be honest, I reckon I can probably solve this. So crack on and I'll let you know at the end,

[NEW] Kyle: but when we do go through this, what we will find is that a lot of the facts from the prosecution's case, we're taken outta context. So at face value, they might seem really damning, but then there are also times where the facts just show that there's no way that Shirin could have done this at all.

So the key questions we're gonna be trying to answer today [00:19:00] are, did Shirin Ani kill his wife or was it something else entirely? And how much did corruption and police incompetence play into the story?

Adam: And are we saying that he was a closeted homosexual?

[NEW] Kyle: That is what the South African police are trying to say basically.

Adam: And do we know for sure

[NEW] Kyle: we will look at the actual facts of this and we'll see whether or not it's true or not.

Adam: Okay.

[NEW] Kyle: So as always, the best place to start is at the very top. I'm gonna tell you a bit about Annie Ani and her relationship with Rin So Annie and her family, they are of Indian heritage. She was born and raised in Sweden. Before Annie was born, her father had started up an electrical company, which he then later sold. And so Annie was essentially born into a fairly well off family.

Annie has a lot of opportunities growing up as well as being extremely beautiful. She's also academically gifted, and she even earns herself a degree in engineering. And by the time our story starts, she was actually working as a project manager for Ericsson.

Overall. [00:20:00] Annie was beautiful, she was well adjusted, and from a very, very close knit, nurturing, loving family. Adam, she met she in November, 2009 through a mutual friend of theirs. And at the time, Sherin was working as an accounting consultant for Deloitte in London, he himself is extraordinarily wealthy.

So after they met, the couple started dating and by June, 2010 they were engaged. So Adam, it's pretty damn quick. That's just six months, right?

Adam: Yeah. A whirlwind romance.

[NEW] Kyle: This is where we actually debunked the first myth around the story because in the early reportings of this case, it was said that Annie and Sherin were heading into an arranged marriage.

And this just isn't true at all. it was probably born out of what the prosecution were trying to claim, but it also likely due to just lazy sensationalist journalism and it wasn't really kind of aggressively corrected later on.

Adam: Is it just like an as a sweeping assumption based on their sort of background?

[NEW] Kyle: That's exactly what it is. Because it was a factor that kind of fed neatly into the [00:21:00] narrative that Sharon murdered his wife, right? Mm-hmm. The assumptions that they made were based on certain aspects.

This idea was just further reinforced by the fact that they were both Asian. They had met, got engaged, and all married within literally 18 months. Which sounds like a short time But really, when you think about it I think that's the completely acceptable range of time to know someone before you get married.

Adam: Um, I disagree, but it's not like this is just exclusive to Asian people. Exactly. People, it's and there's, anyone can do this.

[NEW] Kyle: So maybe it's a little bit fast. Sure. But it's nothing really to raise an eyebrow about. But it is also true that Annie was openly expressing concerns about the marriage before they even got married. And it was about Sheen himself.

She was telling family and friends that he was just overly controlling. So all those things combined are suggestive of a lot.

They suggest a motive for wanting Annie dead without ever saying outright what that motive was. But the reality was that this wasn't an arranged marriage. They had met and fallen in [00:22:00] love all on their own accord, and things just so happened to quote unquote move fairly quickly in their relationship.

It is however true that the relationship had its hesitations. When I was researching this, I got the sense that most of these hesitations stem from the fact that Annie and Sharon didn't live together until like a few months before their wedding. Right. Annie lived in Sweden, remember with her family and where her job was. So for a time, their relationship was essentially a long distance. One splitting their time between Sweden and the uk. Mm-hmm.

And it is true that Sherin was extremely methodical and process driven. Everything in his business life was rigorously planned and controlled. He's described a lot as being a perfectionist. That's a big thing that we hear in the story, but it's also probably true to say that these were qualities that Annie really admired about him.

Adam: And also I'd say the flip side of that is he could probably come

[NEW] Kyle: across as controlling. What she probably didn't count on was that when they first moved in together, this perfectionism. Could spill over potentially into their personal life and become difficult for her to [00:23:00] adjust.

So to Annie, what she once saw as perfectionism in his business life became controlling in their personal life. Do you know what I mean?

So depending on how you see it and how it's affecting you, something very positive could actually be turned to a negative because perfectionism and controlling, they're the same thing, just seen from different angles.

Adam: Yeah. If we met Monica Galler in real life, I dunno if

[NEW] Kyle: we would get on with

Adam: her.

[NEW] Kyle: No, we, I would, I would.

Adam: I like her. So, but do we know, actually, what evidence is there that he was controlling? Is there anything that's said or is it just like from conversation she had with friends and family?

[NEW] Kyle: It's mostly from conversations that she'll have with friends and family, which we'll get onto. But also he is a high powered businessman. And everything in their lives is regimented. In fact, a lot of their honeymoon in their wedding, it's his planning.

Adam: I see.

[NEW] Kyle: So this kind of worrier, especially with the wedding, just a few months away in the lead up, she starts telling family and friends that she didn't think the relationship was going very well at all.

She describes her in as stiff and difficult, and this eventually evolves into her [00:24:00] expressing actual regrets about their engagement and fears about them getting married.

So in some texts she even says she hates him. So on the face of it, this doesn't feel like it's just standard cold feet, does it?

Adam: No, it doesn't at all. She seems like, you know, she's thinking of an exit plan or something. So what was going on for her to say that? 'cause it doesn't sound like it's all rosy.

[NEW] Kyle: The thing is though, her family of friends, they do their best to reassure her. And they say to her that once you're married, everything will settle down.

And they remind her that she and Shean were just still adjusting to living together after being apart for literally most of their relationship. Right.

Adam: Well that sounds like the worst advice.

[NEW] Kyle: It does.

Adam: Why would you get married so quickly? Just actually live together for a bit?

[NEW] Kyle: There might be some cultural aspect to that as well.

Adam: Mm, okay.

[NEW] Kyle: basically what they're saying is these are just quirks that you just have to learn to navigate around. Like when you first move in with someone, you learn their annoying habits. Now listen, it is tricky because what they were saying was probably right, but also this could easily be [00:25:00] seen as like a major red flag that everyone was downplaying.

Adam: Yeah. I get maybe from an outsider that that's the kind of thing you'd say to reassure like, yeah, it would be fine. But the fact that they lived separately or in different countries and probably didn't spend a huge amount of time consistently, whether they lived together or not, just makes me feel like they shouldn't have, they should have slowed it down.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. No, I agree with that. But the end of the day, Annie is a pragmatic woman at this point. She's 28 years old. She thought that her parents and her friends were probably right, but she also recognized that there were family politics to consider here too.

For example, the wedding was already planned. The money has already been spent, and she had uprooted her entire life to move to the uk and so she agreed that she just needed a little bit more time to settle after such a whirlwind of an engagement basically.

And so Adam, in October, 2010, Annie and Sherin, they get married in this lavish three day Bollywood style wedding in Mumbai. It costs 150,000 pounds. And Adam, it just looks incredible, super [00:26:00] colorful, tons of jewelry, fabulous clothing, multiple outfit changes across dozens of different events. It's just spectacular.

Adam: Isn't it crazy That much money. On a party.

[NEW] Kyle: But the thing is though, is it a lot of money to someone like them who are both really successful and they come from really successful families, it's probably like hardly anything. It's probably the equivalent of spending 20 grand,

Adam: I guess. But just things I could do with that money,

[NEW] Kyle: yes. But if you can spend at $150,000 on a wedding, you probably have a lot more. Where that came from I see It's relative. And Adam, when you look at the photographs, They seem to really be in love and this is that interesting thing that you often see dissected on true crime forums after like a tragedy strikes, people suggest, like it's always the couples projecting the most perfect idyllic life who's secretly falling apart, behind closed doors.

Do you know what I mean? In that framing, the wedding photos, they just become the capstone, the suppose proof of the facade, the rushed engagement, the false assertion of the arranged marriage, her doubts about his [00:27:00] controlling nature. All of this kind of seems to be written in their smiles when they see their, their beautiful, blissful, truly in love photographs.

Hindsight's a wonderful thing is basically what people are saying.

Adam: Why are they expecting like an episode of EastEnders? Yeah. Like with some of means slapped around the face throwing the wedding cake on the floor.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. Is that too much to ask? Yeah. So immediately after the wedding, Annie is expecting things to start feeling better between them instead, for a moment, it seems like it actually gets worse because just days before the honeymoon again, she confides in her family that she doesn't want to go to South Africa.

Again, it comes back to Sheen being this perfectionist and having this controlling personality. She even goes as far as saying just days after the wedding, Adam, that she wants a divorce.

Adam: Oh, wow.

[NEW] Kyle: So I don't know if she's even communicating any of this to Sharon,

Adam: but it doesn't sound like it is she pretending everything's okay. But I don't, I feel like that's probably quite difficult to do. She probably wasn't herself. So he must have known [00:28:00] something was up.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. I don't know. I know that there are, and we haven't covered that in this, but there have been Difficult conversations that they've had to have, especially about, their future and having kids and things like that. My point is that she's not someone who would shy away from a difficult conversation. So I wouldn't be surprised if she has had these conversations and

Adam: they've fallen on like deaf ears or something like that. And then, I

[NEW] Kyle: don't know, let's go further into the story and see what you think. Because despite all of this, on the 9th of November, 2010, Annie and Sheen, they jet off on their honeymoon, two South Africa, and they start off at a luxury safari resort in the Kruger National Park.

And again, when they arrive, immediately Annie texts her parents saying, he's a nice guy, but I just do not feel happy at all.

And so her parents are a little bit concerned now, right? She's now on a honeymoon. They want her to be happy. Do you understand what I mean? So there's that concern now, they've jet halfway around the world and she's still miserable.

Adam: I know. But if she's said this for like several months leading up to it and they're still not listening and they're going and [00:29:00] going, oh, this doesn't seem like her. Maybe you should have listened. Maybe the first 50 times

[NEW] Kyle: maybe. But Adam, things start to turn because the very next day she sends another text, and this time it says it's getting better. It's hard to explain. I'll call you when I'm back. Is immediately followed up by another text that says, I hate the word divorce.

What does that even mean?

I think because she was considering potentially wanting a divorce in one of her previous texts, she's now saying, do you know what divorce is not the right way. It's not part of my core beliefs. It's not really what I want. And actually I'm seeing a glimmer of hope between our relationship. I think I can work on this. She's now probably thinking my parents are probably right. I'm now seeing it for what it is. Let's just see how things go.

Adam: Okay,

[NEW] Kyle: so on the 12th of November with things apparently going well, Annie and Sharon, they fly to Cape Town for the second leg of the honeymoon.

Sadly, Adam, within 30 hours of landing, Annie will be murdered when they arrive at the [00:30:00] airport. They're going to be staying at a very fancy hotel called the Cape Grace Hotel. It's right on the waterfront.

It's got views of Table Mountain in the background with the ocean views ahead of them. It's very fancy, and it's most certainly a hotel that would've offered them some kind of shuttle service to get from the airport to the hotel when they confirm their booking. Mm-hmm. And she planned all of this so he would've known this. Right. And he's a perfectionist, but for whatever reason, he has not prearranged a shuttle.

This is actually the first thing that cast this cloud a suspicion over him, especially considering, as I said, he is a perfectionist. Mm-hmm. Because by not getting yourself a shuttle in South Africa, there are real dangers to just jumping into any random taxi.

Like the driver might not have had the right permits, or he could literally just rob the shit out of you.

This is South Africa. You just do not do these types of things.

Adam: Yeah. So why, why has he done this?

[NEW] Kyle: So with no shuttle, prearranged sherin approaches [00:31:00] a seemingly random taxi driver by the name of Zola, Robert Togo.

Togo is 30 years old. He has no prior convictions apart from one for driving his taxi without a permit, which again, this is South Africa. If you don't at least have one conviction for not having the correct permit, can you honestly say that you're a taxi driver? Okay? The answer is no.

Adam: You have at least five

[NEW] Kyle: exactly.

Togo will later become the prosecution's star witness testifying that Shen had paid him to arrange Annie's execution. Togo agrees to take Annie and Shen to the Cape Grace Hotel when they arrive safely. Annie goes inside to check in. Shen, however, stays in the taxi to have a chat with Togo.

The thing to know about taxi drivers in South Africa, especially around heavily tourist areas, is that they literally do it all right? Not only will they shuttle you to your hotel, but it's very, very common for them to become your dedicated driver throughout your entire trip, right? mm-hmm. They, they'll arrange your excursions for you on your behalf.

They'll give you suggestions. [00:32:00] Basically, you exchange numbers, and then they become your go-to for Taurus advice, essentially. Yeah, it makes sense. Togo says that this is not the conversation that he had with Shen. Instead, Shen asked him, if he can help take somebody off the scene as in kill them,

right?

So let's unpack that for a second. You've just met a random taxi driver 25 minutes ago, and you are already asking him if he can organize a contracted hit on your behalf. That's not even enough time to make small talk, let alone gauge. If you can trust the stranger enough to kill somebody for you on your behalf.

Adam: I mean, it's pretty quick. But this, I don't know, Sharon, he moves fast. But then is he, has he heard something on the grapevine? Mm-hmm. Does he think that everyone's just corrupt anyway, so even he could brush it off?

If someone says what you go oh, I'm joking or something.

[NEW] Kyle: I see what you're saying. Mm, interesting. Togo apparently says he refuses, which is weird enough response anyway for a regular person. Hey Adam, can you help me kill someone? You'd be like, uh, [00:33:00] no, I can't do that. Sorry. You'd be like, what the fuck?

Adam: It depends how he refuses. If he, is he doing that or is he going, no, I can't help you?

[NEW] Kyle: No, because he tells Shiran that he could call someone in the township who may be able to help. That's

Adam: okay. So he is willing to, did

[NEW] Kyle: you say that's okay?

Adam: I said, that's okay, but that was two seconds.

That's

[NEW] Kyle: comma. Okay. Yeah.

Wow.

Adam: Yeah, that's okay.

[NEW] Kyle: Here's the thing again, right? Togo has no idea who Sheen is. Right? All he knows Sheen could be a cop.

Adam: Do cops Are they undercover Taxi

[NEW] Kyle: drivers? Famously, if you ask somebody, if they're a cop and they're a cop, they by law have to say, yes, they are. Okay.

No, they don't. Oh, really? That's a breaking bad. Is it? Yeah. Do you remember when they do the drug deal and that like really skinny guy from Big Bang Theory? Mm-hmm. He plays Leonard's, druggie cousin , and he's like sitting on a bench and he is like, Hey, you got any drugs?

And he is like, how do I know you're not a cop? And he is like, well, you did. You know that if you're speaking to a guy and you suspect they're a cop, and you ask them if they're a [00:34:00] cop, and if they are a cop by law, they have to say whether or not they're a cop or not.

And the guy's like, well, are you a cop? He's nah, man. He is like, oh, okay, great. And he gives 'em the drugs. And then he was like, put your hands up motherfucker. 'cause it was a lie. Oh,

Adam: he tricked him. I thought about it. That wouldn't really work well for any police that are on deep undercover, like in some kind of infiltrate, some gangsters and they ask him and they're like, oh, I'm gonna have to tell you now.

[NEW] Kyle: But the thing is though, it is weird. He doesn't know if he's a cop and he's just straightaway said, I'll see what I can do.

Adam: Yeah, he seems very helpful. Can you show me where the best restaurants are? Can you tell, take me to, I dunno, the beach tomorrow? Yeah. Can you take out my wife?

Oh God.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. That's essentially what they're asserting has happened here.

But regardless, according to Togo's t this is what happens. And I really struggle with this purely based on what we know about Sheen. Like, remember Adam, he's a perfectionist, so he's asking a random person to kill his wife. It just seems like he's putting too much up to chance, if you will. I feel like he would've already [00:35:00] arranged his wife's killer long before even arriving in South Africa.

Adam: Yeah, like on the dark web

[NEW] Kyle: possibly. 'Cause he spent all this money coming to South Africa deliberately choosing this location according to the police. Or was he just, and yet he's leaving this bit. chance.

Adam: Yeah, I was just saying. But is, could he, because of all the crime, he could leave up the chance to make it look. Obviously like it was just spare of the moment that it wasn't planned because otherwise people would be able to tap probably his phone, whatever, if he was in another country planning this, and that would be the proof, right?

[NEW] Kyle: The prosecution is going to later allege that he chose South Africa to disguise Annie's murder as a hijacking gone wrong, knowing the country's high crime rate and the poor crime resolution rate. So he's thinking that if I came here, I'd likely be able to get away with it. If that is true, then this is the level of planning that we are talking about here that he's undertaking.

He's thought about that deeply and yet he's leaving the actual hiring of the killer to chance to the very last minute. I just think that just doesn't sound like him. Mm. But at the same time, because [00:36:00] he's a perfectionist and very methodical, could this be a sort of a double bluff? By arranging the killer face to face with no prior contact, is this him making sure that he doesn't leave a paper trail?

Adam: That's exactly what I think it is.

[NEW] Kyle: like Sheeran will handle a lot of cash throughout this trip, right? Rather than using his credit card or debit cards. So that possibly does back this theory up.

Either way, the allegation is that Sheen Dani is in this moment of time, conspiring to commit murder with a taxi driver. He has literally met moments ago in a foreign city.

So after this conversation, she heads inside to the reception area with Annie. After they check in, sheen goes back outside and he continues this conversation with Togo.

Now a conversation does happen. We can see that according to the CCTV, and it lasts around about nine minutes.

She says that they were discussing hiring Togo as a driver for the duration of the trip. As we said before, taxi drivers in South Africa, they pretty much do way more than just shutting you between the airport and the hotel.

But according [00:37:00] to Togo, the conversation was about who Sheeran wanted killed. And apparently it was a woman who was arriving that evening and Togo asked him how much he was willing to pay and basically the exchange ended with Tonga saying that he would seek out a contact in the local township.

So after this, Tonga then drives to the Colosseum Hotel to see a friend who he knows works on the reception desk, and his name is Monday Lumbo, which is gonna call him Inbo. Basically in Blombos role in all of this is that he's gonna play the middleman. He's gonna be the link between Togo and the potential contract killer in the local township. After the murder, he will actually end up getting complete immunity from the police. So the thing that we want to do here is we, as we navigate through the story, we wanna really pay attention to his behavior and ask ourselves, does he actually deserve that immunity?

Because at the end of the day, he's connected Togo to the contract killer. I would say that's pretty damning. Does that deserve immunity? I don't think so.

Adam: I [00:38:00] think so. I know he can plead ignorant in terms, I just connected two people. I dunno what they were talking about.

[NEW] Kyle: So when he gets to the Colosseum, hotel footage shows Togo and Lumbo talking outside, there's no audio. But according to Togo, he tells Lumbo that Sherin is willing to pay 15,000 rand, for a hit on a woman, lumbo confirms that he knows someone in the local township who could do this which is around nine hundred pounds.

Adam: 900 pounds. Yeah. That doesn't, I mean, I know obviously people are poorer there.

[NEW] Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Adam: But that does not seem like a lot, like I was surprised that you can get a hit in the UK for 20 grand. Yeah. So 900 pounds, it seems ridiculous, right?

Someone's life.

[NEW] Kyle: The conversation lasts around two and a half minutes. So it is debatable whether or not that is enough time to discuss all of this. Basically, lumbo is then seen going back inside to the reception desk to get his phone. CCTV footage at the reception desks do have audio, and it captures another employee asking Lumbo what's going on out there, to which Lumbo [00:39:00] laughs and replies.

You don't want to know before continuing to go back outside to Togo.

Now, Adam, at face value, of course, that could be seen as very incriminating, right? Mm-hmm. But at the same time, it could also be them talking about 100 other different things. Yeah. Like they're going out for a date with some girls. They're gonna go score some drugs. Whatever.

Adam: Yeah. Yeah. It's not incriminating to know that at this point in time, that in

[NEW] Kyle: context, that looks incriminating though, doesn't it? Yeah. So back outside, lumbo is seen calling a man named, I can't pronounce his name, Ms.

E Wa, Ida.

Adam: I'm sure that's wrong, but Yeah, we're gonna

[NEW] Kyle: call him qbe. Because that's his surname. I was gonna say, is that because

Adam: it's his name? That's his name.

So, qbe.

[NEW] Kyle: Qbe, yeah. So QBE is the guy from the local township, that they're gonna connect Tonga with, He's a nasty guy, Adam. He has a history of violence offenses, and on the call, according to Tonga, QBE agrees to take the job.

When the call is done, Togo and Lumbo are seen, looking ridiculously pleased [00:40:00] with themselves. They're smiling, they're laughing, they're doing like a little Chandler dance and yeah.

What do you think of that? Do you think it's strange that this is how you behave after arranging a murder?

Adam: I dunno. Is this the first murder they've done? Maybe they enjoy it. They have no

[NEW] Kyle: prior convictions.

Adam: It seems, obviously, yeah, they've got no prior convictions. That means they haven't necessarily not done anything that being Yeah,

[NEW] Kyle: in a country that's very bad at crime resolution.

Adam: So I don't know, maybe if you are like that, maybe you would do a dance. I don't know.

[NEW] Kyle: But like I said, this conversation could have been about any number of things. I'm not sure if it looks like this is a setup to a contract killing. It didn't look like it when I was looking at the CCTV footage because it just seems so unlikely that she Lansing Cape Town and lo and behold, the very first person that he connects with , connects into a network of contract killers.

I don't buy that even in South Africa, like South Africa's a notoriously dangerous place, but it's the speed and the efficiency in how this supposedly happens. That just feels off to me.

Adam: I feel like we need to try and test it. Not actually go through with it, but let's go [00:41:00] to South Africa, get a taxi and just ask, do you know anyone that can? What was it? Get rid of someone.

[NEW] Kyle: I think no matter where you go in the world, vast majority of people are good people. The fact that he's tapped into a contract killer network just like that with the first person he speaks to, it's just not plausible to me.

The point is, Adam, it is now 6:15 PM At the same time, Shiran has just returned to the Cape Grace Hotel. After exchanging 800 pounds into South African Rand. While he's out, he also purchases a single Red Rose Ferran. Again, strange behavior for a man supposedly about to kill his wife. No,

Adam: I guess so.

[NEW] Kyle: You are being very skeptical tonight. I, well, I, he, yeah.

Adam: I dunno, like, I guess it depends. If you're quite sadistic, would you do all these things go through this whole big rad?

Mm-hmm. That's why I'm thinking. But if I take it at like face value and he's not guilty, yeah. Then obviously, well yeah, this isn't a sign of that.

[NEW] Kyle: So lemme get this straight right now. [00:42:00] You believe that he's done this?

Adam: I think so, yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: Okay, fine. A few minutes later, Annie calls her parents they say to South African authorities, obviously after everything has happened that on the phone, she sounded really weird on the call. She just wasn't herself. They don't elaborate much on this, unfortunately. But they just say that she just does not sound right. And her parents obviously convinced that Shen. Ordered a contract kill on Annie. So I get how in hindsight they would reflect on this conversation and go, something fell off to us. But sadly, this phone call will actually be the last time they actually ever speak to her, At 6:40 PM Togo arrives back home here, he calls qbe. That's the guy that they phoned at the Colosseum, and QBE is going to be the first gunman in this crime. According to qbe, he and Tonga discussed the plan and how it should be made to look like a hijacking, and that the fee for the job was gonna be 15,000 rand. This conversation alone lasts just 41 seconds,

with QBE [00:43:00] at the time of that 41 second call is another guy called z Minni. He's actually gonna be the second gunman in all of this. What is interesting is that the testimonies from Togo, lumbo and QBE all largely corroborate the claim that Shen hired them to kill Annie.

Um, G's testimony, that's the second gunman. His testimony never supports the other stories that Sharon ordered the hit.

Adam: Okay.

[NEW] Kyle: What ties the three men who say that Sheen did is that each one of them took a plea deal from the South African authorities trading a lighter sentence for a confession that she ran was the mastermind behind Annie's murder.

Yeni rejects this plea, and like I said, he does not corroborate what the others are saying. And the reason for this is that it was his bullet that eventually killed Annie. And under South African law, murder comes with an automatic life [00:44:00] sentence.

So no plea deal was ever going to change the fact that he was going to prison for life. And so no plea deal would give him an incentive to sign one.

Adam: Right.

Okay. So if he rejects the plea deal, then is he gonna be, want to be seen as a rat and therefore actually corroborate with their story? Or does it really matter to him because he's going to prison regardless, so he doesn't need to side with them.

[NEW] Kyle: He is the guy who's murdered Annie and his defense can't be that Sherin put us up to this. His defense has to be that he was being used as a scapegoat by the others, all of whom who were cutting deals in order to save themselves pinning most of the serious blame on him. So his case rests entirely on the word of accomplices with all the incentive to lie, basically.

Adam: Got you.

[NEW] Kyle: And this is one of the most telling aspects about this case, right? It feeds into the story that the South African authorities were desperate to pin this murder on Sheen as a way to protect the country's tourism industry.

Either way, there is now an agreement between [00:45:00] four men to allegedly carry out a contract kill on Annie Ani. That's Tonga, the taxi driver, MBO the receptionist and middleman. Qbe, the first gunman and manni, the second gunman whose bullet will ultimately kill Annie. And by the way, this plan has allegedly been arranged just hours after meeting sheen across two phone calls. One of which lasts 79 seconds and the other 41 seconds.

Adam: So

[NEW] Kyle: how long have they been in Cape Town? This is all, the first day this is out. It's been like three hours and now it's arranged.

Adam: Wow. That is pretty quick going, which does seem quite fishy.

[NEW] Kyle: Two phone calls.

Adam: Yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: 79 seconds, 41 seconds.

That's all the interactions that they've had.

Adam: I feel like it should take longer.

[NEW] Kyle: 100%. That's my argument here. This doesn't seem right, but back at the Cape Grace Hotel, CCTV footage shows Annie and Sherin heading out for dinner at a sushi restaurant, just a short walk away from the hotel.

The waitress who served them that night says that they didn't seem like a typical honeymoon couple. She says at [00:46:00] one point she went over to the table and Sherin was gone and Annie had apparently told her that he was off making a business call

In the footage, you literally see Annie just slump back in her chair. Her arms crossed. She's not happy about this, which is obviously understandable. This is her honeymoon. Mm-hmm. And her husband is just like nipped off to take a business call in the middle of dinner at night. Okay.

I did think that this might have been kind of down to time zones, but remember it's on the same time zone as the United Kingdom, right?

But he doesn't actually go and make a business call as he told Annie, at least not in the way that you would expect.

He's actually gone to go get his phone, which he's left back in his hotel room, just a short walk away from the restaurant.

When he gets his phone, he notices that he has a text from someone. He responds by calling them it's Togo, and they end up talking for five minutes and 26 seconds.

According to Sharon, they were talking about tours and arranging times and dates, which honestly I understand, right? Like when we were in Morocco, [00:47:00] we were in constant regular contact with our driver arranging meeting points and outings. So I get that at what time of night this was there. Exactly. Nine o'clock.

Mm.

Adam: I feel like, okay, maybe you wanna try and make as much money as you can, particularly when it's this kind of industry, but I feel like you probably would clock off, but perhaps he's driving at night, so maybe he's at work.

[NEW] Kyle: Could be. Like I said, what is strange is the urgency as to why he left his honeymoon dinner at night. To go off and confirm times and dates. Couldn't that have waited till morning or at least until when you were back at the hotel room? Sure.

However, Togo has a very different account of what that conversation consisted of. He says texted Sheen to confirm he had found someone willing to do the job, and the call that followed was about the 15,000 Rand fee.

Mm-hmm.

So if what Togo is saying actually happened, then Sharon's urgency suddenly makes sense. Right.

Adam: But he didn't have this phone on him though.

[NEW] Kyle: Nope. He left. That's the other thing as well. If you were arranging the contract killing of [00:48:00] your wife and the only way that you were communicating with those killers was through the mobile phone that you had leaving your mobile phone in your bedroom, anyone could have seen that turned down. Service could have come in. They could have seen that text.

Adam: True. But I would've thought you'd want like a burner phone for something like this.

[NEW] Kyle: exactly. Where's the burner phone? But he's not using it. That's why I'm saying this. This seems odd.

Adam: Yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: After this Shirin returns back to Annie, they finished in around 11:00 PM they head back to the hotel and as they approach their room, there was a really unfortunate piece of CCTV footage especially considering what he's about to be accused of.

You basically see him using both his hands as finger guns pretending to shoot Annie. Annie doesn't seem to react to this, right? It's clearly lighthearted, but in context does not look good. He's kind of walking backwards and he's like laughing and joking. He's like, pow, pow, pow, pow. And she's just like closing her bang, like rolling her eyes, right?

but in context of what he's been accused of,

Adam: is it someone like gloating about what's gonna happen? Who [00:49:00] knows? Yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: I think that's what the police are trying to assert here.

So now actually, Adam, we arrive at the day that Annie will sadly be murdered that morning. They're both seen heading down for a late breakfast during breakfast.

Togo tells police that Shirin had called him in a rush, asking him to pick him up at midday and to be taken to a money changer so he could get the money for the hit.

Except there's no record of that call ever taking place. So there is a massive crack in his testimony straight away. If it's one of the first ones and there'll be many of them, this just isn't supported by any evidence whatsoever.

It's inconsequential because Adam, they do end up meeting up, but it is a big detail for him to get wrong. Mm-hmm.

Apparently the South African authorities say that this inconsistency makes no difference to the case, considering obviously what happens next because 30 minutes later at midday Togo texts Sharon saying I'm outside.

Sharon replies one minute later with, give me 10 minutes. And so they [00:50:00] likely did arrange to meet just not that morning as Tonga said, but probably the previous evening when they were having that five minute phone call. Sure.

But it's a big thing for Tonga to get wrong. Yeah, he called me this morning in a rush.

He didn't.

Adam: Okay.

[NEW] Kyle: So Sherin takes his time changing from pool ware into a golf shirt and trousers in the CCTV footage. There's just no indication that he's in a rush despite obviously Togo's claims. He makes his way downstairs. He gets into the taxi Tonga takes him to a black market money changer where Suren changes 1,500 dollars into 10,200 grand.

Now, if you add that to the money that he had changed earlier on when he bought Annie, that single red rose, he's now carrying 21,500 grand. That's more than enough money supposedly to pay for this kill.

There is a major issue in this case because there is no evidence that money ever makes it into Togo's Blombos, qbes, or ESE hands. It just seems to vanish.

Adam: So where is Annie at this point? Is she at the hotel

[NEW] Kyle: in this instance? She [00:51:00] is at the hotel.

Adam: Okay. And the money that he's just got never is seen again.

[NEW] Kyle: It's not seen again.

So after changing the money, Togo then takes Sharon back to the hotel. He later tells police that during that 10 minute car ride, Sharon specified exactly how the hijacking should be carried out.

According to Togo, Sharon wanted him to pick both him and Annie up at 7:30 PM that night. The plan was for Tonga to drive them into an ambush with the gunman. At that point, Sharon and Tonga were to be forced out of the vehicle, leaving Annie alone as the men sped off with her.

From there, the gunman would then take her to a secluded spot, rob her at gunpoint, and then kill her. And Shean explained that Togo would receive 5,000 rand for his part in all of this, while the gunman would be paid 15,000 rand once the job was done.

Adam: That's horrendous.

[NEW] Kyle: It's horrific, isn't it?

Adam: But I guess the thing is, what I don't quite get about this is, okay, so the money disappeared, but could he have given the money to Tonga at that point when they went to get it [00:52:00] so that, that's why we never see it again. 'cause he's got the money. Two. I thought Togo didn't really wanna be involved yet.

He kind of is really, he's saying I don't do that, but I'm willing to drive. Yeah. Your wife to her death.

[NEW] Kyle: Sure. Now he did say very specifically according to Togo, so if Togo's lying, then he is dug himself a bit of a a hole because he says that Togo would receive 5,000 R for his part while the gunman would receive 15,000 rand once the job was done.

Mm-hmm. So to give him the money in the car didn't make sense.

Adam: Okay, sure.

[NEW] Kyle: So apparently Togo agrees to all of this and he promises that he's gonna meet with the gunman now and then finalize the plans once everything was in order.

So apparently this entire conversation, which leaves a hell of a lot to chance, all happens in a very tight 10 minute window while Togo is driving. Even when they get back to the hotel, there's no lingering right. CCTV footage captures Sharon getting out the taxi immediately. So it is all done and dusted.

Now, later a UK inquest uncovered their Togo's 5,000 [00:53:00] Rand payment, which is about four 50 pounds, would be less than a third of his typical monthly salary. And yet the South African authorities never questioned why someone would do that for a third of their monthly salary.

Adam: Yeah. It just seems way too low. And why would you put yourself at risk for that little. money.

[NEW] Kyle: Exactly. Are you now coming around?

Adam: But is what is the going rate in South Africa?

[NEW] Kyle: What's really funny is that in court, the prosecution argued that the amount of money that Shean was carrying with him on his person is the exact amount a contract kill typically costs in South Africa.

Adam: What about 20,000?

[NEW] Kyle: But the thing is, how do they know that? Is there a price list for contract killings in Cape Town? Because they do not provide any sources to back any of this up. They just go, yep. That's how much it costs around here.

Adam: I bet we could find out on Google.

[NEW] Kyle: But the point is that they don't back this up in court. And it's part of the kind of this stupid prosecution case that they put together, right?

Mm-hmm. They needed it to fit, they knew that Sharon had 21,500 grand on his person. So they needed that [00:54:00] number to fit the amount for a contract held basically. Sure. In my opinion. I dunno, allegedly.

So at this point, Shirin is now carrying 1,500 in cash on his person. And as I said, there's no trail of it anywhere following the murder. What happened to it? But equally, if he wasn't planning Annie murder, what was the money for?

Adam: Well, like to do stuff. I'm guessing they're going for fancy meals. Maybe like 2010. Right? So things were probably more cash than it was card back then.

[NEW] Kyle: According to Rin, the money was for a surprise helicopter ride that he was planning to take Annie on the next day at the Colosseum hotel, and I think I believe him.

Adam: Was there any, like anything booked under his name?

[NEW] Kyle: So I can't prove this, but this makes sense to me. I'm almost certain that five minute call to Togo the previous evening.

Mm-hmm. Remember when he left Annie to say he was making a business call? I think that was just a cover so that he [00:55:00] could ask Togo for ideas on a surprise excursion without Annie overhearing. Remember, they're on holiday. When we're on holiday, I cannot put in peace. You're always there.

Adam: I'm not like a dog that's just like scrambling at the door.

[NEW] Kyle: My point is, is that you're in the same hotel room, you're always together, you're going out excursions together. You get very little private time . so him leaving the phone in his room was a perfect excuse for him to go, I need to make a business call.

He can go off, he can make the surprise excursion. I see.

I think that Tonga then suggested a helicopter ride at the Colosseum. Why The Colosseum? Tonga knows the Colosseum. He has friends who works at the Colosseum. He knows the staff there. And he also knows that the helicopter ride typically goes for 10,000 rand and this is why he picked him up at noon so they could go and get the money for that helicopter ride.

Adam: Okay, that makes sense.

[NEW] Kyle: But I will admit it is odd that Sharon took out cash for the head of court ride rather than paying by card. Right. I totally get using cash when you're dealing with locals who are organizing [00:56:00] excursions, especially like in 2010, right? Where small operations don't really take card But this helicopter ride was being offered by the Coliseum Hotel, so they would most definitely have a accepted card at the desk.

Adam: Yeah, you would think so.

[NEW] Kyle: If that is true, like why go through all the effort of leaving the hotel to exchange that much cash when you know you can just like stay with your wife and also just pay by card.

But I do have a theory for that.

Adam: The exchange rate? No. Like what?

[NEW] Kyle: Because after dropping she in back of the hotel, Togo picks up Lumbo and he takes him to work at the Coliseum. Right. They know each other. It's the same hotel that is obviously offering the helicopter ride.

I think through Lumbo he was able to unlock some kind of staff discount, but not a discount for Sharon, a discount that allowed him to maybe skim some money off the top of their 10,000.

Now I say this because after Lumbo gets to work that same day, CCTV footage shows the reception staff chatting excitedly about a surprise helicopter, right? And Blanco has obviously been bragging about this, right? Mm-hmm. [00:57:00] One of the other receptionists makes a remark along the lines of rich people and their money, blah, blah, blah, and Lumbo, how much does it cost?

And then figures off 10,000 rand and 7,500 a discounted rate are then mentioned in that conversation.

Adam: Interesting.

[NEW] Kyle: This makes me think that Togo convinced Huen to pay with cash may be offering him like a discount of a thousand rand off of it. Mm-hmm. Right. And then he would pocket the difference between himself and Lumbo.

Adam: Got you. So that's how Yeah. Why he wants it in cash.

[NEW] Kyle: It's just a theory that I have.

Adam: Okay. But, so this is your theory. But they've got footage of this conversation with the receptionist staff talking about,

[NEW] Kyle: just briefly. It's like a throwaway remark. They're just having a chat and they say it.

Adam: Okay. So at least that does back up with what could have Well, with Sharon's story then.

[NEW] Kyle: It's difficult to make out precisely what they're saying, but they definitely have this conversation. Okay. We dunno who they're talking about though. True. But they are talking about rich people. Surprise helicopter ride. How much does [00:58:00] it cost? And they've just had a conversation a few minutes ago.

Adam: And a price that's very similar to the amount that Sharon has withdrawn.

[NEW] Kyle: Exactly.

So I think that there's a chance that Sharon gave the cash to Togo in that taxi. Which explains why Togo went to the Colosseum immediately after leaving Shirin, doesn't it? I think so. But the thing is though, south African police, they never follow up on any of this. Never once do they check that CCTV and go, this is a weird conversation. Let's check with, Togo to see what they were talking about.

Let's check with Sheen to see what they were talking about. They don't ask Sheen where the money went during the investigation. He literally offers to speak to the South African police following obviously Annie's murder, but they never follow through. So he's never even been interviewed.

It could be that they already had made their minds up. That they wanted to kind of pin this murder on him, so they've deliberately neglected to follow up on where the money went, right? They might even know, but they're just like hoping it gets buried,

and this is why I say like in court, the prosecution, they say the exact amount of money that he had on him is the exact amount that a [00:59:00] contract he goes for. And again, They don't know that, they don't even provide any evidence for it, right? Mm-hmm. Then if you had investigated this, surely you would know.

You would know. You'd get the black market prices. Yeah, Now I also think at some point that Togo identified the Sharon and Annie were prime targets for robbery, I think that he had either seen her engagement ring, they'd seen kind of Sheeran's flashy watch. Sherin was literally flashing the cash, right?

He was taking out all this money. Sure.

So I don't know when they decided to rob them, but I think it could have been after Tonga dropped Shiran back at the hotel when he went to go pick up Lumbo and told him about the helicopter ride and he was like, I've got 10,000 rand here. Do you know what? There's way more where this came from. Should we rob him?

Adam: Do

[NEW] Kyle: you think

Adam: at that point, or do you think even as soon as he picked them up was like, oh, this is a rich couple. I could possibly scam some, well, maybe scam some money from them.

[NEW] Kyle: Listen, it's just a hunch and you could be right. But I'm inclined to discount that CCTV footage from earlier, where they were [01:00:00] supposedly planning this hit.

I think their testimony along with the footage of them laughing and dancing, is just used by the Sarraf police to support the claim that Sheeran had contracted Annie's murder. I just think they're like, it fits, but the reality is it's two conversations, one that was like 79 seconds. The other one was 41 seconds. Mm-hmm. That's just not a enough time, is it? Yeah.

Adam: I guess they could have had a conversation outside of those two times, which were recorded

[NEW] Kyle: possibly. But they've checked all their phone records and no other calls have happened. Mm-hmm. And I say this because independent investigators, they look in to this and they say that those two calls just couldn't have been enough time to organize a contract kill, but I also think that it wasn't enough time to organize a robbery either.

So I think it had to have happened when they were meeting face-to-face, and that would be in the car,

Adam: unless they've got some kind of deal where they've done this before and they're like, Hey, should we get these people tonight? Yeah, sure. Let's do it.

[NEW] Kyle: Sure. Yeah, you're right. So after dropping Lumbo off at the Colosseum, Togo. Says that he heads straight to the local township to meet with, QBE and [01:01:00] Ghani to put basically in place what was discussed in the car with Sharon.

The key thing that he was supposed to do after this was call Sharon to confirm that everything was in place yet there is no evidence that call ever happened.

That evening just before 6:00 PM and Sharon are seen going to the hotel bar, they are seen posing for pictures. They are repeatedly kissing each other. None of this is the behavior of a man anxious about whether or not his wife's killer will actually pick him up tonight at seven 30 as agreed, right? he's not checking his phone to see if Togo has texted him to confirm the plans are in place for that night.

Adam: I see what you're saying. He'd either have to be a very cold-hearted, calculated killer. Yeah. Mm-hmm. To not care about this. But then equally, if he is someone like that, this wouldn't be his first kill maybe. And so, yeah, you're right. For someone that's doing this for the first time, you would think they'd be anxious.

Yeah. And nervous and not behaving normally.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. Yeah. It's just such strange [01:02:00] behavior. However, meanwhile over at the Coliseum and Blanco, who, if you recall, gets full immunity from the police because he says all he did was connect Tonga to qbe.

He's basically seen on the phone taking a call from Togo, the CCTV audio manages to make out what they were saying. And basically he says, listen, don't give them it all upfront. Give them what you've got so they don't come crying to you.

You must also take your share as well. What does that mean? What's he saying? It's difficult to know whether or not they were talking about the money that Shean was supposed to be going to pay them for, killing Annie. Or if they were talking about something else, perhaps the money that they were going to steal from him. But the key thing is that this footage doesn't sound like Lumbo is just a fucking middleman, does it?

No. Yeah, absolutely. But he gets immunity because he says, all I did was connect A to B. That's all I did. And yet the police gave him immunity.

Adam: Yeah, but he's still, yeah. Why does he get immunity? He

[NEW] Kyle: shouldn't. Smells like [01:03:00] corruption. Yeah.

So seven 30 comes and it goes, Togo does not arrive at the Cape Grace to pick up Annie and Shirin. Now, remember? He's expecting to pick him up at seven 30. He's not received confirmation at this point. You definitely would be checking your phone a bunch of times, right?

Mm-hmm. Eventually, 7 45 arrives. Sharon decides to call him. Tonga says in his testimony that Sharon was furious for him for not picking him up at seven 30 and demanding that the murder happened and it should happen tonight.

So we know that that call happened. What we don't know is what was actually said. Let's just assume what Togo is saying is true. Because when you look at the CCTV footage of Sherin taking this call, he and Annie are sitting at this very tiny bar table leaning in together. And while he's on the phone, Sharon is lovingly stroking her hair.

Mm-hmm. I just cannot buy that. Even a psychopath will be so brazen as to demand his wife's [01:04:00] murder happened that night while stroking her affectionately in public, really close to her.

Adam: You'd have to be a very sick and twisted and bad kind of person

to do that.

[NEW] Kyle: And I think the way that the camera's pointing towards Annie, if he was furious and he was being aggressive towards song on the phone, you would've seen that reaction in Annie's face.

Adam: Yeah. Because she'd be like, why are you miffed

[NEW] Kyle: and why are you talking about me?

Adam: I'm guessing he's not saying that.

Yes, he's got some code words.

[NEW] Kyle: Yep. So what she was actually saying was far more likely, and that was that we've got reservations at eight. Where are you?

Adam: So yeah, he was a bit annoyed, but maybe not that annoyed.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. Eventually Togo arrives annie surprisingly requests that he take them on a drive through the city on the way to the restaurant. So basically she wants to see what the city looked like at night. Mm-hmm. As they do Togo via further out of the city to a point where he's virgining on the outskirts of a nearby township called gtu.

Now this place is known for his violent crime as they drive through Tonga passes the [01:05:00] section of the road where the gunman was supposed to be waiting, but they're not there. We don't know this yet, but apparently QBE has decided to call us all off.

So Togo has no choice. He continues forward to the restaurant. When they arrive, Tonga says that he walks in with them through to the entrance. And when Annie went in ahead of them, Shean apparently turned to him furious, saying, if the job is not done tonight, I am going to kill you.

Adam: Is that captured on CCTV

[NEW] Kyle: when independent investigators reviewed the CCTV. They saw Annie Sherin and Tonga walking up to the restaurant and it's Sherin who goes and enters the restaurant first. He does not hang back and there is no row.

Adam: Interesting. Once again, this story just doesn't quite match up with what's going on.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. This is wild. Togo is making a huge claim in his testimony, and yet the South African police do not even pull that footage. Or if they did, they're completely disregarding [01:06:00] it.

Adam: Yeah. They're like, oh, it could have happened at another point, I'm guessing, saying

[NEW] Kyle: while Annie and she and I at the restaurant, frantic calls are going on back and forth between Togo, the gunman and Blom. Then at 21, 31 CCTV footage, again, back at the Coliseum, shows lumbo saying the person who wants this is in a rush. Maybe by the time you get there, they will be there.

Adam: The person who wants this is in a rush.

[NEW] Kyle: That makes it sound like it's quite damning towards sherin.

Adam: Mm-hmm.

[NEW] Kyle: Doesn't it?

And that kind of backs up what, Togo was saying about him being furious and demanding the night

Yeah. Either way. At 9 56, Annie Shean finished dinner. Togo says that Shean called him to ask if the gunmen were waiting where they should be. However, Shean says he simply called Togo to pick them up because they were done with dinner.

Adam: Okay. Both make sense.

Do they, in terms of there's a, that's a reason that Sharon could say that. Yeah. Obviously that's is what he would say.

[NEW] Kyle: True. So when Tonga picks him up, the records show that he sends a single [01:07:00] text to Sharon sitting in the backseat of his taxi. He says it read, don't forget about the money. He then says that Sharon replied, the money is in an envelope in the pouch behind the front seat.

There is evidence that Tonga sent a text. There's just no evidence that Shen replied. Really? Mm-hmm. We dunno what the text says, but that's what the record shows.

Adam: But should he, if there's, like, this is in court, they're gonna look through all of this. Mm-hmm. But they don't,

[NEW] Kyle: that text to me just says, back to the hotel. Yeah.

Togo then drives them into the heart of the Google et township as they pull into a side street. Qbe and Mni step out in front of the taxi, Togo halts to a stop. They then instruct them to open the doors. Togo says that he played along, because of course he knew that this wasn't a real hijacking.

Sharon says that he grabbed hold of Annie and held her tight, because at this point she was starting to cry. And again, that's not the actions of a man that wanted his wife dead.

Adam: of course he's gonna say that. Of course he's

[NEW] Kyle: saying that. Yes. Okay. The gunman demands that Annie hand over her wedding ring and her engagement rings. She [01:08:00] completely refuses. Sharon just tells us to just do it because they can always just buy new ones. Mm-hmm. He then says that he handed over all the cash that he had in his wallet, 4,000 Rand, which is basically 350 pounds.

He then says that he pleaded with the gunman not to kill them. And then Rin recalls mene saying that they weren't going to kill them. All they wanted was the car and that they would be letting them go separately.

Adam: Okay.

[NEW] Kyle: Sharon is then ordered out of the taxi. He begs them to let them go together. QBE then turns to she and says, get out the taxi right now, or we will shoot you. And so Sharon gets out the taxi then speeds off with Togo and Annie.

A couple minutes later it stops again. And this time they order Togo to get out. So how credible is what she is saying about what happened about gripping Annie really tight about giving over the cash, insisting that Annie give over her wedding rings.

Adam: I feel like, yeah, that's probably the story he would tell if he was guilty. I understand why he would get outta the [01:09:00] taxi, but I can't see why a husband would leave his wife in the taxi to be taken.

[NEW] Kyle: If you're had held at gunpoint, then you probably would, right? ' cause there's a chance that you both could die then.

Adam: I, I guess so. don't know. I, That's the bit that makes me think maybe this could be him.

[NEW] Kyle: . But of course, you're right. He could be lying. It seems Togo has of course, lied loads of times to protect himself. So why wouldn't Sheen in this instance?

Adam: Yeah, of course.

[NEW] Kyle: Well, sheen had never met Ghani before. Ghani is also the only gunman not to take a plea deal. He's also no incentive to lie, because remember, it's his bullet that kills Annie, and he was going to jail no matter what. And yet when he's arrested, long before Sherin was even a suspect, it's his testimony that matches exactly what Sherin had said.

Adam: Interesting.

[NEW] Kyle: Mm-hmm. he said he demanded the ring. She wouldn't give it over. He was clutching her tight. He confirmed that they were going to let them go a bit separately. They weren't gonna kill them. He said all of it.

Adam: Okay, that's interesting. Interesting. [01:10:00] Yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. So now Shirin is essentially all alone in the middle of the township and he's freaking out. He has no idea what to do. Luckily he's seen by a local guy called Elli Matty. And basically he comes along to assist and he helps call the police.

It takes forever, Adam, but eventually the cops arrive. The cops then coordinate a search for the taxi and in the meantime they take Sheen back to the hotel where they set up base in the hotel's internet room so they can continue the search.

And Adam, she is in bits like you literally see him on CCTV walking between the rooms He's clearly distraught and the police will argue that this is just an act, but there are so many moments where there's just nobody around, just the CCTV. And it shows him in floods of tears.

Adam: Yeah, because normally I imagine, some behavioral psychologist, whatever, would've studied this and would've gone actually his over the top. Or actually, this is genuine behavior. Did anyone do that?

[NEW] Kyle: Not the South African authorities. I don't recall from the Panorama, [01:11:00] documentary that I saw that they talked about a criminal psychologist looking at his behavior.

But they did look at all the forensics and stuff.

According to Sim Bonelli, that's the guy who helped him in the township. He says that he was shocked when he found out that Sharon was accused of this, just purely based on how Fran he was when he found him. Mm-hmm.

Togo is also eventually brought back to the hotel and get this, he says that when he is brought back to the hotel, he overhears a police officer referring to Annie as Shen's wife, to which he claims this was the first time he realized the woman Sharon wanted murdered was his wife.

Even though he'd picked them up at the airport, driven them around for hours and hours, back and forth to dinner and everywhere. This is when the penny drops for him.

Adam: Did he just think that was his girlfriend or just, I don't know. Surely like he would've seen them like being, like a couple.

[NEW] Kyle: I just think he's just so full of shit. He's lied so many times and he's made these really stupid lies mm-hmm. That are just inconsequential, and mean nothing.

Adam: As if to say oh, if it, if I had known it was his wife, I wouldn't have been involved. [01:12:00]

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. Oh, but a random person you would've Yeah.

All the cops do is reassure she that they're gonna find Annie alive, but Adam in reality. Annie was already dead at this point. She'd been killed just a few minutes after Tonga was forced outta the taxi. And so

Adam Cox: why, why did they, let's just say for a second that, okay, Sharon had nothing to do with it.

And that it's these criminals that kind of went right, we're gonna rob them for their money, which they've done. Mm-hmm. They've successfully done that. Why did they kill her? Why do they not let her go?

[NEW] Kyle: I'm gonna tell you now. ' cause when it comes to how she died, there are essentially two versions.

'cause both QBE and um, Negi, they blamed each other basically. So in this instance, the South African police had to go with the forensics, the very limited forensics that they were capable of, and they managed to match the bullet to N's gun. So it was him who essentially, who had, who had murdered her.

Here's the thing, the forensic findings differed between the South African authorities and the independent experts who reviewed the case a few years later. Basically, [01:13:00] they found that the South African authorities just made educated guesses about what they thought had happened, rather than actually doing any proper forensics at all.

They both agree though that Annie was killed by a single gunshot that passed through her hand before entering her neck, severing her blood vessels, and then entering her spinal cord. Poor Annie. But the South African investigate is claimed that she'd been cowering on the backseat while the gunman had leaned from the front passenger side and deliberately fired a close range at her, making this basically a pre-planned execution in their eyes, therefore supporting their claim.

The independent forensic expert on the other hand. Found that there was no blood splatter on the backseat, suggesting that she was actually leaning forward when she was shot, and the suit on her hand indicated that the muzzle was as close as five centimeters from her hand.

Now what this suggests is that the gun was discharged during a struggle, likely over her belongings. And this is backed up by the fact that the gunman had fled, they had stolen a [01:14:00] handbag, her mobile phone designed a watch jewelry, all worth around 8,000 pounds.

What they did not take was Annie's rings because police later found those under her body one hidden in the seat. And collectively, those were the most valuable items in that vehicle that night at 25,000 pounds,

Adam: and the ones that probably meant the most to her.

[NEW] Kyle: Yep. And the fact that they were found flung in the car was that they were trying to struggle those out of her hand.

Adam: And I've just realized the valuables that were taken 8,000 pounds and yet they were willing to do this for 20,000 or 15,000 round

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. 900 quid or whatever.

Adam: Yeah. So why would you even bother going through with the kill if you had been hired to do that? You just want the money, right?

Yeah. So I now buy, it's a struggle.

[NEW] Kyle: And of course the reason why they didn't take them is because likely there was that struggle. They tried to pry it out of her hands. The gun then discharged, and then when that happened, they fled out a panic.

Mm-hmm. And so Annie [01:15:00] lay in the backseat and she slowly bled to death.

And so the independent forensic team's findings show that this wasn't a contracted kill, this was a robbery gone wrong, essentially. Mm-hmm. Now, it is true that this could have been a contracted kill and still had a firearm accidentally discharged during a struggle.

Right? Yeah. 'cause remember, they were supposed to stage a robbery, but why did they then not stick around to make sure that she was dead? Remember If this was a contract to kill and you accidentally shot her by accident, you would most definitely stick around to make sure she was definitely dead.

'cause that's what you're getting paid for. Now, it's true that, of course, as you said, the hold is now bigger because they'd stolen all this jewelry worth 8,000 pounds. But still, they don't necessarily know that at this time until they sell those items.

Adam: I guess, yeah, on the flip side, they perhaps were gonna take her to a certain place to kill her and it went wrong. But then equally, they probably thought, actually our job's done. Yes, they might have run away, but did they actually run away?

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah, they ran away as soon as the [01:16:00] gun went off. How do we know that? Because they left the rings behind. That makes sense. So to me, why did they not shoot her again if this was a contracted kill? It's just a lot of effort to go through to potentially risk not getting paid. 'Cause remember, if she doesn't die, they're also not gonna get their money.

Adam: True. Although they've just got all this money.

[NEW] Kyle: But they don't know that though. That's the point, right? Yeah. They don't know how much it is worth.

Adam: But then why would they be going after the wedding rings then? Because they don't know how much they're necessarily worth.

Well,

[NEW] Kyle: because it, they think it's a release worth something. Yeah. But then at the same time, they also probably tugs then because they know they're rich. Yeah. So, Yeah, it's an interesting one. And yet Adam, the South African authorities, they failed to do any tests on the ballistics to prove it was deliberate. Instead, they just ran with this narrative that it was a contract to kill, possibly because it needed to be deemed a hit, otherwise it would damage the country's tourism.

Adam: 'Cause if that is true, that story or that narrative went across the world. Yeah. And it was reported on for quite some time. It wasn't huge amount of time. Yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: But listen. We still need to [01:17:00] get to the court case and we still need to look at some of the evidence, especially the prosecution, to decide whether or not we think Sharon had any involvement in this.

So yeah, this looks like this is a ploy to protect the country's tourism. So instead what the South African authorities do is they issue plea bargains in exchange for confessions to kind of suit that narrative. And as a result, everyone who took one of these plea bargains end up walking away a free man.

The only one who didn't was Maggie, because he was already a condemned man anyway. Had to say that the others were blaming him if he wanted any chance of not going to jail, basically. Yeah. That's his only defense that he's got,

Adam: and he's the only one that's corroborated the story.

[NEW] Kyle: And so his testimony from that night is the only one that matches Sharon's, despite the two of them, never having met in their lives.

In Q Bay's testimony, he says that he found an envelope with 15,000 rand in it for the hit exactly where Togo had claimed Sherin had placed it But in Egs testimony, he says there was no 15,000 rand. He says the only money that they split was the [01:18:00] 4,000 rand that they had demanded from Sheen. When they robbed him, and the evidence that backs us up is because the very next day, Negi went and spent half of his 4,000 rand on trainers and clothes. So if there had been more money, he would've spent more money.

Adam: And that's what makes me think now, that, it could have been a kill. People wouldn't have been like killing for that level of money. They just wanted some extra money to buy some new designer aware.

[NEW] Kyle: yeah, probably. And so on the 14th, on November at 9:20 AM Adam, the police tell Sharon that they had found and his body in an abandoned taxi and CCTV footage shows him absolutely hysterical. Like 90% of the footage is just of him in bits.

The worst is when he is seen going off, leaving the hotel to go and identify and his body at the mortuary. And I just feel so bad for him. He's just distraught. However, the prosecution hyperfocus on just three seconds of all of that footage where the following day he has seen just for a second smiling on the phone to a friend.

Adam: Wow. That's a clutch.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. [01:19:00] So of course back in Sweden, a similar phone call. Absolutely collapses. Annie's whole family, one week earlier they were receiving texts about how Annie was having difficulty adjusting, expressing her hesitations about the marriage and even her family describing her last phone call has been really strange.

Adam: Do you think that once the family, Annie's family had said that the South African police and government could go, actually we could use this

[NEW] Kyle: 100% because now there was essentially a stranger on the other end of the phone asking them to confirm dates, spellings, who her next kin was. And of course all of those texts and all those hesitations now become evidence for the South African authorities. Yeah, so you are, you're right.

Another piece of the prosecution's evidence is more CCTV footage of Sheeran. Just before he leaves South Africa, he is seen meeting with Togo one last time. Surprised by that.

Adam: I, Well, I guess for Sharan, if he, at this moment in time, if he's not guilty and therefore suspects that it is a random attack, he might [01:20:00] meet with the taxi driver. Because perhaps he think, you know, he's concerned about him as well.

[NEW] Kyle: Well, Togo says that he came to the hotel to collect his 5,000 rand fee for his part in Annie's murder.

They were both seen entering the internet room where there's no CCTV, but there were other people in that room.

So it's not likely that they were seeking privacy, right?

I don't know. Mm-hmm. Shirin is seen going in with a white plastic bag and leaves a few minutes later without it. A few seconds after that, Togo is seen leaving the room with the bag hidden under his shirt, and he head straight to the toilet and he claims that's where he can then counter the cash and notice that there was only a thousand rand in it.

He says he then went looking for Sharan to confront him about being shortchanged, but there is no CCTV evidence that Togo actually did this. He literally just makes a beeline for the exit and he leaves, and that is the last time that he ever sees essentially Shiran.

Adam: Okay. So why would he lie about trying to [01:21:00] find Shiran then and chasing him down?

That doesn't make sense.

[NEW] Kyle: No. So what this money is likely for was just the agreed payment for driving them around on their trip. It's not some fee for his part in the killing, but I have to say Togo is fucking lucky to be getting a single penny of any of that money at all.

If I was the driver and you led me and my wife into an ambush that resulted in my wife being murdered mm-hmm. I would not be paying you anything.

Adam: But I guess he doesn't know that that was done on purpose at this point. Exactly.

[NEW] Kyle: You are exactly right.

'cause from Sharon's perspective at the time, Togo's just an innocent bystander just like him. Yeah. So he probably feels bad that shit. You know what? You lost your taxi. Yeah. Here's the money.

Togo says in his testimony that this was of course the last time that he had ever heard from Shean. But again, that's also a lie because phone records and CTV footage show Shean calling Togo from the hotel about an hour after paying him. where they spoke for 50 seconds.

Now we don't know what they talked about, but this is the sixth time that phone records and CCTV footage have proven [01:22:00] that Togo has lied in a sworn statement to police. And yet, Adam, his entire testimony is the leading bit of evidence throughout Sharon's trial.

So the thing is, it does raise questions. Why was Shirin even calling Togo after their business arrangement was essentially done? Right. The only way that I could really rationalize it was that maybe Shirin had asked if he knew anything about what had happened that night.

But remember the call only lasted 50 seconds. like, 'cause They probably chatted about all this in the hotel anyway. Mm-hmm. But maybe it was like, oh by the way we were having this conversation. What about this little quick detail? And he was like, no, I don't know anything.

Adam: Yeah, maybe, is he asking, do you know another taxi driver? I dunno. Of course

[NEW] Kyle: I need to get to, I need to get to the airport. Yeah. Either way, the investigation moves on and about a week later, Togo is officially announced as a suspect.

and the very next day he enters into a plea bargain in exchange for a testimony against Shiran Duani. And the deal essentially cuts his sentence from 25 years to [01:23:00] just seven years simply for arranging the middleman on Blanco.

Adam: But at this point when he's arrested, are they pinning this on Shiran or are they arresting him? 'cause they think he's just connected with the robbery. They believe

[NEW] Kyle: he's connected. Now he's gone to a plea bargain and they've said, we'll give you the plea bargain if you testify against shiran.

Adam: Fine.

[NEW] Kyle: But the weird thing is, Adam, is that it's the spear at which this plea bargain was arranged. It's almost unheard of because usually these take weeks, if not months. But the police were under pressure to resolve this case quickly. And so of course the preferable outcome was that Annie's murder be portrayed as something arranged between Togo and a foreign visitor to the country rather than evidence of rampant domestic criminality, which of course might damage the country's tourism industry.

But when Togo's plea deal is rubber stamped, that is essentially the moment that Shean officially becomes a suspect. By this point, Shiran is ready in the uk.

So on the 8th of November, a day after Tonga's arrest, Shiran is [01:24:00] arrested in the UK at the request of the South African authorities. The South African Justice Department makes it very clear that they would be requesting his extradition if convicted, and that he would spend life in a South African prison.

Wow. Which is a scary fucking thought. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Of course his lawyer refuses the extradition because they knew that if he did go to South Africa, he wouldn't be given a fair trial. They argued that as a result of everything that had happened, Sheeran had been diagnosed with an acute stress disorder and basically they pushed for the extradition hearing to be delayed until he recovered.

And this isn't just a line, Adam, like Sheen is an absolute shell of a man at this point because a week after he ends up getting sectioned under the Mental Health Act after he takes a cocktail of 46 pills, including diazepam.

And painkillers.

Adam: Yes. That's something you don't do.

[NEW] Kyle: That's a suicide attempt. Yeah. And

you cannot argue that this was part of some kind of act to fake depression.

Adam: No, because that level of pills, like it could have gone the other way. Yeah. He could have died,

[NEW] Kyle: more likely have gone the other way. But as a result of this suicide attempt, the [01:25:00] South African authorities demand that his bail be revoked. Saying that it was basically just his way of avoiding a trial and they wanted him to be arrested to prevent any further kind of suicide attempts.

Somehow his lawyers, they successfully managed to convince a judge that him taking 46 pills was not a suicide attempt, but instead was an accident. And the judge buys it.

Hang, hang

Adam: on. How does, no, I know it's mad. Did he, did he think it was vitamin C? Like what?

[NEW] Kyle: So Sharon basically manages to avoid an extradition hearing for four

Adam: years. I mean, I imagine like he's got some money, he can probably afford some very good lawyers,

[NEW] Kyle: possibly. But there's a time limit to that because eventually he's brought in front of a judge and the court finally agrees that actually in fact there is enough evidence to extradite him to face trial in South Africa.

And so off he goes. And when he gets to South Africa, he's arrested, he's charged. In those four years that he was escaping kind of [01:26:00] trial, QBE is sentenced to 25 years. So, so much his stupid plea deal did for him, right? Mm-hmm. Gie, he pleads not guilty, but he's proven that he was the gunman that killed Danny. And so he's sentenced to automatic life in prison.

Togo gets seven years for his plea deal, as we already discussed, but what is wild is that his defense team managed to prove that police had used torture to get him to enter into that plea deal and testify against Shiran, really? Mm-hmm. And yet his testimony, Adam underpins Shen's entire incrimination in this case.

Wow. Adam, it's just so corrupt, right? Lumbo, the middleman, all charges against him are dropped because apparently the evidence against him was considered unreliable and contradictory.

This is despite him even admitting that he lied in several statements, right? Admitting he lied. He even at one point admitted his involvement in the killing, and yet he gets full immunity. In fact, by him admitting that he is lying, that is straightaway [01:27:00] a poy charge, right?

Adam: Yeah. You can't believe anything he says.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah,

Adam: exactly.

[NEW] Kyle: And yet he's granted this full immunity in exchange for promising to provide a truthful testimony against Shiran Wanni, they've already proved that he's lied several times. So it's like, how can you trust any truthful statement that he provides?

You just can't.

Again, it's just so corrupt. And cross-examination.

The court described him as a self-confessed liar. The judge even said he fabricated evidence and was just not a credible witness.

Adam: And of course he doesn't deserve the immunity.

[NEW] Kyle: And this is where, I mean, where all the corruption goes, all the way to the top, because it's the director of public prosecutions who ultimately decides that Lumbo could not be prosecuted for his role in this or that perjury charges could be brought against him.

So essentially he walks away completely free,

but Sharon's trial begins on the 6th of October, 2014 and in court he basically opens up by starting to describe how his life essentially collapsed after and his death. When he is cross-examined, the prosecution leaned heavily on the testimonies of Tonga and UAE to prove, of course, that he contracted Annie [01:28:00] murder.

And again, all of those were proven to contain lies and contradictions. The biggest thing though, that they need to prove was Sharon's motive. They claimed that it was because Sharon was gay and that this was why he wanted out of the marriage.

If Annie was murdered, he would of course be a widow and free from the pressure of having to remarry free to obviously live his life as a closeted homosexual man essentially.

Adam: That's a stretch to remain in the closet. And is there any evidence to suggest that he was,

[NEW] Kyle: so the prosecution brought in a surprise witness. His name is Leopold Lesser, apparently he was an escort that Shirin had hired on the regular, the name that he went by was the German master. Oh. Basically he's a German dominatrix and he told the court that Shirin had paid him 400 pounds per session and that he was the only client that he allowed to sleep over.

He claimed that the last time Shean hired him was a month before he got engaged to Annie. And he records Shean telling him that Annie was a lovely girl and that he liked [01:29:00] her, but he couldn't break out of the relationship because his family would disown him, and yet he still wanted to find a way out.

Adam: I mean, I can understand now with that piece of evidence mm-hmm. why maybe the South African authorities were, pushing their side. But it does feel like if this has just come outta the blue

[NEW] Kyle: It does. It feels like it, doesn't it? Here's the shocker, because in court, Shiran admits that he's bisexual. He admits to using gay escorts. The prosecution even presents evidence of him frequenting gay fetish websites. Even reading out his gay Dar profile in court, he basically went under the name of Asian sub guy and his bio described himself as submissive, filthy minded, and perverted.

Okay.

Annie's family, Adam. Meanwhile. They're mortified, right? For them, all the pieces feel like they're starting to fit into place Most days in court, they can barely even keep this together. And I mean, there is something really heartbreaking about seeing a father breaking down over the loss of his daughter and just being in tears.

It's really [01:30:00] difficult to see the images and watch the footage. So yes, this probably gives motive for why he might have wanted Annie dead.

As damning as it sounds though, motive isn't really evidence. It's not treated as such. and The evidence that he actually contracted her murder is also quite weak in itself.

There's nothing actually tying him to any of this. There's no, search history. There's no DNA, there's just nothing. There's no nothing. Where's the money, for example?

Adam: I just feel like that is a lot to do, just to get out of a marriage. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. I'm sure there's other ways.

Where there are.

[NEW] Kyle: But also Shirin says that his sexual interactions with men were mostly physical experiences, whereas with women, there were, more relationships involving kind of emotions and attachment. Mm-hmm. There's also no evidence that he was using escorts after. He'd gotten engaged to Annie.

In fact, medical records show that just days before the honeymoon, he and Annie were already talking to doctors about actively trying to have a baby. So to me that is not the actions of a man planning to kill his wife within the next few [01:31:00] days.

Adam: Yeah. It sounds like he, is bisexual and is attracted to men.

He's put that to one side. For his marriage.

[NEW] Kyle: Sure. But also Leopold says that Shen's family would've disowned him if they found out that he was bisexual.

Sitting in the courtroom with him every day is Shen's sister who is openly a lesbian and she's sitting there with her girlfriend right next to their entire family.

Adam: Right. So that's not true then.

[NEW] Kyle: Exactly. If his family clearly accepted her sexuality, why wouldn't they accept his

Adam: and that their support? Yeah. Okay.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. At the close of his trial on the 24th of November, 2014, Shen's lawyers applied for the case to be dismissed under section 1 7 4 of the criminal Procedure Act, arguing that there's essentially, there is no credible evidence linking him to this crime, and that is true.

The judge basically agrees she acquits and exonerate him completely. She says that. The case was grossly riddled with inconsistencies. The witness evidence was hopelessly flawed [01:32:00] at best, and she openly criticizes the prosecution for their poor quality of the case, despite having four years to prepare for this.

And so the final question comes down to this, Adam, why were the South African authorities so hell bent on expediting plea bargains and extracting confessions, even allegedly using torture? Was it the fear of the impact this international case could have on South African's tourism following the World Cup?

I think that's certainly the case.

Adam Cox: That seems

just crazy though. Mm-hmm.

Adam: Maybe not so crazy that it can't be true, but just wild that's a potential motive. They're like, we just got Shakira. Guys. Think of the think of the next time we get a celebrity, it's gonna take us years.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah. Is this just wild?

But the thing is though, in that moment, protecting South Africa's image was everything to them. This was supposed to be this new era for the country, and it was a far better PR to say that a foreign [01:33:00] national had come to orchestrate a diabolical murder plot. Rather than admitting honeymooning tourists were randomly being shot in townships.

I was gonna say like

Adam: even after this, people are still going to South Africa.

[NEW] Kyle: I dunno the numbers. So I dunno what kind of, injection they got after the World Cup. I assume it was a lot and they were certainly trying to get even more, but yeah, this just, it's like the Streisand effect, if they just like let this go and Yeah. It was a tragic thing. They pegged it down to what it was, it probably would've breezed over, but people remember this now. Yeah. Yeah. 'cause how big the story became.

Of course since 2010, it feels like the story is left a curse on the people that are involved. Just before Sharon's trial in 2014, naggy developed a brain tumor and he dies in prison.

But then also in 2015, Annie's father has his arm ripped off in an industrial accent while repairing a lift. Apparently the chain, it slips causing the case to fall down and sever his arm just below the shoulder.

But then in 2016, Leopold, our German [01:34:00] master, he's found hanging in his flat. And apparently this was just two days after his 45th birthday and in an inquest into his death, found that he was really depressed as a result of the trial.

Oh wow.

So it's strange that these terrible things have happened to all these different people that are connected to this case, it feels like is almost cursed. Mm-hmm.

And Adam, that is the story of the murder of Annie Ani and how corruption a deep rooted desire to protect South African tourism completely derails an investigation into this young woman's death.

Adam: Yeah. It just, it felt like, if anything, regardless of what the actual outcome is, her death was not properly investigated and justice was not served for her. And I think that's what's quite sad. I guess the only thing I can say is that the, judge or the jury, whatever, the prosecution didn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was behind this.

And

[NEW] Kyle: that's the law. Unfortunately, if you can't, then he's exonerated.

Adam: Yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: So I think I agree with you. I just [01:35:00] honestly can't say without a shadow of a doubt that Sharon was not involved in Hannah's murder. But I appreciate researching the story because when it first broke into the mainstream, I was convinced he did it.

Yeah. But seeing the evidence and the lack thereof all laid out. It's very, very clear that something is amiss.

Adam: Yeah. We can't prove that he did it. Yeah. And I think he's innocent. I'm probably now about 80%. Yeah, same as same as me. Yes. 80% buddies. I just don't want to rule it out in case, poor Annie, she died and I don't. Yeah. But I don't think it was him.

[NEW] Kyle: I think the evidence is pointing overwhelmingly that he didn't do it. How awful would Annie feel if she was in heaven knowing that her husband has been pinned for this, when actually it was these other motherfucking bastards? Yeah,

and that's the thing, once you have a bad actor interfering with evidence like the South African kind of authorities, it makes it almost impossible to get the truth out later.

It's been 14 years since this has happened, and I'm only now looking back on this now. Many people out there will not get their opportunity to change [01:36:00] their mind on this case. unless they listen to this episode, the more people listen to this episode and you remember this case, listen to it and just tell us what you think.

Have you changed your mind? What was your, perception of this case when it first broke? But that's the sad reality is that we're a small little podcast. Not everyone's gonna listen to this.

Adam: Stop trying to plug the podcast. I mean, do, do plug the podcast. I know. Listen, I need to end on a more

[NEW] Kyle: serious note and you're just making it too funny.

Because I wanna say fan's, family, there is no acquittal that restores anything. Birthdays are gonna become anniversaries. The itinerary of a honeymoon essentially becomes a timeline for a crime. They sit through years of strangers debating over motives and methods. I mean, we're here 14 years later, right?

While the person that they love is basically reduced to exhibits and transcripts, they don't get that certainty. All they get is absence. And that's the sentence that they have to serve.

Adam: And to be fair, all we've done is talk about the suspects involved in her [01:37:00] case. Not Annie herself.

[NEW] Kyle: I'd like to think, I like gave you a little bit of insight about Annie at the beginning.

Adam: Yeah. But what I mean is in the search for the truth, she almost becomes a foot. No, not, I don't mean that, but everyone's like questioning all the suspects, what they're doing, the corruption. Everyone's focusing on that. No one's focusing on her.

[NEW] Kyle: Unfortunately, without the other people involved in the story, there isn't a story.

Right? Mm-hmm. There isn't a story to tell about Annie and we sometimes we don't get to choose our story.

But I think through the telling of the story, we can also reflect and go, there was a human being at the end of this.

Adam: Yeah.

[NEW] Kyle: And I think I tried to do her service rather than having her as a faceless figure.

I think I tried to tell you a bit about who she was, so we could remember that as we went through what essentially is her final days. And a big part of me now thinks, honestly, that this was just a robbery that had gone wrong. I don't think Sharon orchestrated his wife's murder, but there are strange nuances in this case that mean I can't be 100%.

And like you, I think I'm still 80% sure.

[01:38:00] But the saddest part of all of this, and again, is that this isn't something Annie's family will ever get back. They've lost their daughter essentially, and now all they have is that space that she should be filling.

So it's a sad case, but it's an incredible story of how a country South Africa, ' cause it could just be any other country, could do something like this in order to protect their national identity.

And I think there's something quite gross about that.

Adam: Mm-hmm. I agree.

That was. Enlightening in a way because all I remember was that it was him. So it's good to revisit and reeducate yourself, really.

[NEW] Kyle: Yeah.

Good. Should we run the outro for this week?

Adam: Let's do it.

[NEW] Kyle: And that brings us to the end of another episode of the Compendium, an Assembly of Fascinating Things.

Adam: If today's episode has sparked your curiosity, then please do us a favor and follow us on your favorite podcast app. It truly makes a world of difference and helps more people like you discover the show

[NEW] Kyle: and for our dedicated freaks out there, don't forget that [01:39:00] next week's episode is always waiting for you on our Patreon and is always completely free of charge.

Adam: And if you want even more, then join our certified Freaks tier to unlock the entire archive, delve into exclusive content, get a sneak peek at what's coming next.

[NEW] Kyle: We drop new episodes every Tuesday and until then, remember when corruption infects the system, truth becomes the first casualty. We'll see you next time.

Adam: See you.