It started with a single body in a car boot. Most people in the quiet suburb of Krugersdorp, South Africa, just assumed it was another tragic case of "ordinary" crime. They were wrong. What followed was a years-long descent into a rabbit hole of manipulation, pseudo-religion, and cold-blooded murder that still leaves people shaking their heads today. We aren't just talking about a group of criminals; we’re talking about Electus per Deus (Chosen by God), a cult that turned a suburban neighborhood into a hunting ground between 2012 and 2016.
The Krugersdorp cult killings weren't the work of some shadowy underground organization you'd see in a movie. It was a small group. A few moms, a son, a daughter, and a mastermind who convinced everyone she was a high-ranking prophet. Cecilia Steyn—the woman at the center of it all—didn't even pull a trigger herself. She didn't have to. She had a way of getting inside people's heads until they believed that killing was literally their divine duty.
The Web of Cecilia Steyn
To understand how the Krugersdorp cult killings even happened, you have to look at Cecilia. She was a master manipulator. Honestly, calling her a "master" almost feels like an understatement. She claimed to be a former high-ranking occultist who had "escaped" and was now being hunted by Satanists. It was a brilliant, albeit terrifying, grift. She used fear as a leash. She told her followers that she was constantly under spiritual attack and needed their protection—and their money.
Marinda Steyn (no relation to Cecilia, though she later changed her surname to match) was a local teacher. Think about that for a second. A woman responsible for educating children was one of the primary executioners for a death cult. Along with her children, Le Roux and Marcel, they formed the core of Cecilia’s "enforcers."
How the killing started
It wasn't about blood sacrifices at first. It was about revenge.
📖 Related: Who Will Trump Fire? The 2026 Shakeup and the New U.S. Wildland Fire Service
The first victims weren't random strangers. They were members of a different Christian group called Overcomers Through Christ (OTC). Cecilia had a falling out with them. Why? Because they started seeing through her lies. When the leader of OTC, Ria Grunewald, stopped giving Cecilia the attention and platform she craved, Cecilia decided to destroy her.
They started with bombs. Small ones. Then they moved to murder. In 2012, Natacha Burger and Joy Boonzaier were stabbed to death. Their crime? They were friends with Ria. Later that same year, Pastor Reginald Bendixen was hacked to death with an axe in his own home. It was brutal. It was messy. And for a long time, the police had no idea these events were connected.
The Shift to "Appointment Murders"
By 2016, the cult’s motivation shifted from petty revenge to something even more mundane: money. They were broke. Cecilia needed cash to fund her lifestyle and her supposed "medical treatments" (she often faked illnesses to keep her followers sympathetic).
This is when the Krugersdorp cult killings took a turn into what investigators called "appointment murders."
The group would lure people—often estate agents or tax consultants—to fake meetings. They’d choose people they thought had money. Once the victim arrived, the cult members would ambush them, tie them up, and force them to hand over their bank cards and PINs. Once they had the money, they killed the witness.
- Hanle Lategan: An estate agent who went to a viewing and never came back.
- Kevin McAlpine: An insurance broker lured to a meeting.
- Anthony Scholefield: Another victim of the "fake appointment" trap.
Marcel Steyn, the youngest member, later testified about these moments. She was 14 when the killings started. Imagine being a teenager and having your mother hand you a knife or tell you to help clean up a crime scene. It’s the kind of detail that makes this case so much harder to stomach than your average true crime story.
The Trial that Shocked South Africa
The house of cards finally fell apart because of a mistake. In May 2016, they targeted a man named Glen Turner. They used the same MO—luring him to a meeting. However, the police were finally starting to connect the dots between the missing persons and the locations.
When the trial finally hit the South Gauteng High Court, it was a circus. Cecilia Steyn sat there, often looking bored or feigning illness, while the details of her "occult" claims were picked apart. The prosecution, led by Gerrit Roberts, did a massive job of untangling the lies. They proved that Electus per Deus wasn't some ancient religious sect. It was a murder for hire (or murder for theft) ring run by a woman with a personality disorder and a God complex.
The sentences handed down by Judge Jacob Francis were some of the heaviest in South African history. Cecilia Steyn, Zak Valentine, and Marcel Steyn received multiple life sentences. Marinda Steyn had already pleaded guilty and was serving 11 life sentences plus 115 years.
Why the Krugersdorp Cult Killings Still Haunt Us
People ask: "How could they be so stupid?" It’s a common reaction. But that’s the wrong question. Cults don't recruit "stupid" people; they recruit vulnerable people. They recruit people looking for a sense of belonging or a higher purpose.
Cecilia Steyn was a parasite. She found people with cracks in their lives and filled those cracks with fear and fake divinity. The Krugersdorp cult killings serve as a grim reminder that the most dangerous monsters don't live in the woods. They live in the house next door, they teach your kids at school, and they sit in the pew next to you at church.
What really sticks with me is the timeline. This went on for four years. Four years of bodies appearing in cars and woods, and yet life in Krugersdorp just kept moving along.
Actionable insights for identifying high-pressure groups
While most groups aren't murderous, the psychological tactics used by Cecilia Steyn are common in high-control environments. If you or someone you know is involved in a group that shows these signs, it's time to take a step back and evaluate.
- Isolation from family: The cult specifically targeted people and then told them their family members were "of the devil" or "negative influences" to cut off their support system.
- Financial exploitation: If a leader constantly requires "offerings" or "donations" to solve personal or spiritual crises, that's a massive red flag.
- The "Us vs. Them" Mentality: Electus per Deus thrived on the idea that they were the only ones who knew the "truth" and everyone else was the enemy.
- Fear-based loyalty: Cecilia used the threat of Satanic attacks to keep her followers close. If you're staying in a group because you're afraid of what happens if you leave, you're not in a community; you're in a cage.
- Look for independent verification: Cecilia lied about her past for years. No one ever checked her story because they were too caught up in the drama. Always verify "miraculous" claims through objective sources.
If you find yourself in a situation where a group is asking you to compromise your moral compass—even in "small" ways—trust your gut. The people involved in the Krugersdorp cult killings didn't start as murderers. They started as people who just wanted to belong, and they let a manipulator move their boundaries one inch at a time until the line was gone.