Micki Pistorius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Micki Pistorius (born 19 March 1961 in Pretoria) is a South African forensic or investigative psychologist and author. She was the first woman in her profession[1] and the first profiler in South Africa.[2][3] She says she has "cryptesthesia", an extra-sensory perception for killers.[2][4] Her nephew is former sprinter and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius.

Early and personal life[]

Pistorius grew up in Pretoria with several brothers and sisters. She worked as a journalist for eight years,[1] before deciding to study psychology at the University of Pretoria, where she received a Masters in the subject, and also became a lecturer with a reputation for eccentricity.[4][5] While doing her doctoral thesis on serial killers, the first in South Africa,[6] she developed her theory linking Freudian psychosexual development with serial killing.[3] She was married for eight years, but divorced as a result of work pressures after she became a profiler. She is a Catholic.[5]

Career[]

Pistorius joined the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 1994,[7] where she founded and headed the Investigative Psych Unit[8] as Chief Investigative Psychologist,[5] a rank equivalent to colonel;[4] she also founded the Serious and Violent Crimes Component.[citation needed] By 1997, she had trained over 100 detectives to investigate serial criminals, and two successors, including .[5][8]

She was involved in more than thirty serial killer cases while at SAPS. Among the people whose cases she worked on are Norman Afzal Simons, Moses Sithole, , Stewart Wilken, Sipho Thwala, Velaphi Ndlangamandla, Cedric Maake, and .[1][3][5][7][9][10]

She developed post-traumatic stress disorder and consequently retired in 2000 to join a private investigation company. took over from her.[3] After quitting, she wrote Catch me a killer in order to "purify" herself of her experiences while profiling.[1] She still consults for South African government agencies,[4] and appears in court cases as a clinical psychologist.[11]

Pistorius is recognised as one of the world's foremost psychological profilers, by people such as FBI profiler Robert Ressler.[3][6]

Pistorius has empathy for serial killers, whom she says are "not monsters; they are human beings with tortured souls. I will never condone what they do, but I can understand them."[4] She participated in the training of nearly two hundred detectives in the investigation of serial homicides.[citation needed]

Books by Micki Pistorius[]

  • Skimme in Die Skadu Penguin (SA) 2006 ISBN 978-0-14-302517-7
  • Profiling Serial Killers and other crimes in South Africa Penguin SA 2005 ISBN 0-14-302482-5[4]
  • Fatal Females Penguin SA 2004 ISBN 0-14-302440-X
  • Strangers on the street Penguin SA 2002 ISBN 0-14-100356-1
  • Catch me a killer (autobiography) Penguin SA 2000 ISBN 0-14-029722-7[4]
  • Sorg (historical novel) Penguin SA 2012 ISBN 978-0-14-352715-2

Books about Micki Pistorius[]

  • Micki Pistorius une femme sur la trace des serial killers by Stéphane Bourgouin. (In French) ISBN 2-86391-997-0

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Micki Pistorius, une profileuse en Afrique du Sud - TUEURS EN SERIE.org". www.tueursenserie.org (in French). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Rademeyer, Julian; Siemaszko, Corky (25 February 2013). "Pistorius aunt is famed criminal profiler". NY Daily News. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Attwood, Vivian (8 November 2007). "Is tracking serial killers 'mumbo jumbo'?". Independent Online. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Howden, Daniel (25 February 2013). "Why South Africa's top murder expert will not be involved in Oscar". The Independent. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Johnson, Angella (1 October 1997). "The woman who stalks the stalkers". The M&G Online. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Fuchs, Erin (25 February 2013). "Oscar Pistorius' Aunt Is One of South Africa's Top Murder Experts". Business Insider. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b DROGIN, BOB (22 March 1997). "Post-Apartheid South Africa Swamped by Crime". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Five serial killers operating in SA". The M&G Online. 1 October 1997. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Top psychologist joins hunt for Delmas killer". The M&G Online. 22 September 1998. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  10. ^ Bailey, Candice (16 August 2005). "Revisiting the Station Strangler cases". Independent Online. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Barbie 'psychologically imprisoned' by Dirk". The M&G Online. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2017.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""