Inside info on SA's biggest murders and mysteries

For the common man on the street, the term “Forensic science” is what the popular TV character from CSI, Horatio Caine, does for a living. However, take away the Hollywood factor and what you’re left with is actually a pretty gruesome job.

 

Dr David Klatzow scoffs at the idea of being compared to a fictional character because the process of gathering and examining information about the past is not just something used for scripts, it is his livelihood.

 

Listen as the man who is at the forefront of forensic science in South Africa shares some insights into the infamous Helderberg crash, the verdict of the Oscar Pistorius trial and goes into detail on a very important, and often asked question: What did they miss?

 

 

 

 

Steeped in BLOOD - The Life and Times of a Forensic Scientist

During almost thirty years of practice as South Africa’s first independent forensic consultant Dr Klatzow has seen it all. During the darkest days of the Apartheid state, he has investigated a wide variety of cases from political assassinations to high profile murders. Klatzow has investigated the killing of Dr David Webster by the police “hit squads” operating out of Vlakplaas, and was first to draw attention to the police involvement in this senseless murder.  He has also investigated the staged killing of 7 young men at Crossroads in Cape Town in what became known as the Gugulethu 7 case. Here he was involved in the defence of Tony Weaver (deputy editor of the Cape times) and exposed the police participation in the killing and their subsequent attempts to conceal their crimes.

 

Dr Klatzow has always been motivated by a firm sense of independence and a fearless commitment to the truth. This quest has usually taken place against strong antagonism from government, both then and now, as well as business interests who would rather not have the truth exposed. Klatzow’s exposure of governmental incompetence in the investigation of high profile murders such as the Inge Lotz case has won him no friends in the higher echelons of the police force and the National Prosecuting Authority.

 

“Steeped in Blood” takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the origins and cases of South Africa’s first independent forensic consultancy and gives the reader an insight into the methods used in solving some of the country’s most notorious crimes.

Authors - Dr David Klatzow and Sylvia Walker