Showmax has just dropped the first trailers for Dark Side of Glory, a true crime documentary series that tells the stories behind shocking cases of murder in the world of sports.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Arianna Perretta directed and CMG Productions produced The Dark Side of Glory. The Footballer, His Wife, and the Crash won Best Documentary at the 2023 Broadcast Digital Awards, and it received a nomination for a 2024 True Crime Award for Football Fraudster.
The first episode, The Durban Axe Murderer: The Rugby Killer, premieres on Showmax on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. The jaw-dropping 76-minute feature documentary follows Joseph Ntshongwana, who played for South Africa at the U21 level and for the Blue Bulls between 1998 and 2001.
Ten years later, police arrested him for using an axe to kill four men and injure two others. Joseph claimed to be avenging the gang rape and subsequent HIV infection of his daughter, but police found he had no children.
“There’s a saying that goes, ‘He couldn’t hurt a fly,’” says his former Blue Bulls teammate, Springbok winger McNeil Hendricks. “It’s hard to believe that Joseph Ntshongwana, as we knew him, had chopped people’s heads off.”
Other interviews include Captain Rico Naidoo, colonels Jason McGray and Ze-Ev Krein, detective Marius Van Der Looy, former South African Police Service head profiler Dr Gérard Labuschagne, as well as senior state advocate Nadira Moosa, psychiatrist Dr Zuber Moola, rugby journalist Brenden Nel, and key witnesses, among others.
In The Durban Axe Murderer, Perretta emphasizes the importance of hearing the victims’ and witnesses’ testimonies. “Fikile Mkhwanazi, the partner of murder victim Paulus Hlongwa, sharing her story was particularly powerful.”
The second episode, Death in the Heartlands, premieres on Showmax on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
The 86-minute feature documentary investigates the murder of three female runners in Kenya in 2021: Edith Muthoni, Agnes Tirop, and six months later, Damaris Muthee Mutua. The men closest to them, their partners or coaches, allegedly killed all of them.
Two of the murders occurred in Iten’s elite running community, known as the Home of Champions. Tirop, an Olympian and two-time World Athletic Championship medalist, was found stabbed to death in her home there, soon after clinching a 10,000-metre world record in Germany. She would have been a favourite at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
“The culture of elite sports encourages us to pursue our goals with a narrow focus.” But then we become highly vulnerable,” says Yale academic Dr. Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu.
Other interviews include Directorate of Criminal Investigation inspector Andolo Munga; coach Joseph Cheromei; Agnes’ family and neighbours; and Olympian Viola Cheptoo Lagat, who co-founded Tirop’s Angels to stand in unity against gender-based violence.
“Death in the Heartlands exposes the harsh challenges young, especially female, athletes face and celebrates the resilience and courage of the women who have organised to challenge the culture and system around elite running in Kenya,” says Perretta.
“Dark Side of Glory puts the spotlight on the real voices behind these cases, from the relentless Durban police team that brought Joseph Ntshongwana to justice to the courageous friends and families of Agnes Tirop, Edith Muthoni, and Damaris Muthee, who exposed the exploitation of female athletes,” says Perretta. “These are raw, powerful, and shocking stories…CONTINUE READING>>
