A woman, unable to travel due to a serious health condition, played a crucial role in apprehending her aunt’s killer through a fake Facebook account.
Christine Robinson, originally from Liverpool, was discovered dead at her game lodge in South Africa in 2014.
The family reported that cash intended for staff wages was missing from the scene, and authorities informed them that the 59 year old former teacher had been stabbed to death.
The tragic news deeply affected her family, including her niece Lehanne Sergison from Kent.
Now, Lehanne, some of Christine’s friends, and the original investigating officers have participated in a new documentary detailing her instrumental role in capturing the murderer.
The Facebook Honeytrap Catching A Killer, released on Prime Video, reveals how Lehanne pursued justice despite being housebound in the UK. In the documentary, Lehanne explains that her severe asthma prevented her from travelling to South Africa following her aunt’s demise, even though she wished to be there.
Her medical condition required hospital visits every few months, making air travel impossible. Her uncle and father travelled without her, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Nonetheless, she maintained contact with one of Christine’s friends and learned that the prime suspect, Andrew Ndlovu, an employee at her aunt’s lodge, had disappeared.
He was believed to have returned to his native Zimbabwe before making his way back to South Africa at a later stage. Lehanne, exasperated by the lack of progress in the murder investigation, took matters into her own hands.
She created a fake Facebook profile, assuming the identity of a South African air hostess named Missy Falcao, and started collecting information about the suspect. She even engaged with his friends under this guise to lend credibility to her persona.
In a bold move, she messaged Ndlovu directly, flirting: “Hello handsome, you’ve got sexy eyes.”
Despite feeling a rush of panic post-message, he replied: “Thanks…you are 1 in a million.”
At one juncture, she orchestrated a phoney date hoping the police would apprehend him. Ultimately, she defied the Foreign Office’s advice and posted the intelligence she had amassed on social media, calling for public assistance in her quest for justice.
Fresh images of the suspect were circulated online, prompting others to join the manhunt and aid in bringing him to account, all ignited by Lehanne’s Facebook outreach.
Ndlovu, who had adopted the alias Andrea Imbayarwo to elude capture, was convicted of rape and murder, receiving a double life sentence in 2022.
The Facebook Honeytrap Catching A Killer is streaming on Prime Video.