Hector Pieterson: An Iconic Symbol of the Apartheid

The Apartheid was a period of extreme segregation in South Africa beginning in 1948 and lasting until 1994. The word “Apartheid” translates literally to “the state of being separate”. During the Apartheid, citizens of South Africa were placed into one of four major groups: Black, White, Coloured or Indian, with the ‘Coloured’ and ‘Indian’ groups having many subdivision. South Aftica’s ruling party during this time, the National Party (NP), created laws to support a long-time goal of the NP; To discriminate against the black majority and give the white minority superiority. These laws banned the black population from doing business, living or owning land in ‘white’ areas. From 1960 -1983, 3.5 million non-white South Africans were removed from their homes and forced into segregated areas. They had no right to citizenship and instead became citizens of one of the ten self-governing ‘Bantustans’. The division of the Bantustans was tribal-based. This forced segregation and relocation is one of the largest mass-removals in modern history. Interracial marriage was criminalized during the Apartheid and in 1970, legislation was passed which prohibited any political representation for the Black population. Resistance grew in the 1960s as many Black citizens were arrested, beaten and killed while peacefully protesting Apartheid policies. In 1953 the ‘Bantu Education Act’ was passed, enraging many South Africans. As used in ‘Bantu Education Act’, “Bantu” is considered to be a highly inflammatory word having derogatory connotations against indigenous peoples of central or southern Africa who speak a ‘Bantu’, or Niger-Congo language. [In modern times “Bantu” is used as a neutral term for the various African languages of South Africa when speaking in generalizations] The Bantu Education Act required all South African students to learn the Afrikaan language regardless of their local language. Half of exams for students after elementary/early primary school would be written in Afrikaan. Being the language of leaders of the National Party, it was viewed by non-white citizens as the language of their oppressor. The Bantu Education Act prompted the beginning of many anti-Apartheid political movements and organizations including the South African Students Organization (SASO). During this time the Black Conciousness Movement (BCM) became more prominent in South Africa, as well.
Tensions caused by the Apartheid and the NP’s imposing of the Afrikaan language on South Africa’s youth rose to a climax on June 16, 1976 with the Soweto Uprising. Between 3,000 – 10,000 students (some modern estimates believe the crowd may have grown to as many as 20,000) participated in a peaceful protest organized by the South African Student’s Movement Action Comittee and supported by the Black Conciousness Movement. They gathered in Soweto, Johannesburg, carrying protest signs reading ‘Bantu Education- to Hell with it’ and ‘Down with Afrikaans’ while singing freedom songs. Many than began the march which would end at Orlando Soccer Stadium where there was scheduled to be a peaceful protest. Approximately fifty police officers halted protesters marching towards the stadium and told them to turn back but they refused. Police dispersed tear gas into the crowd and fired warning shots before opening fire into the crowd. Many ran for cover, others held their ground and began throwing stones at police in retaliation.

 

Only known photo of Hastings Ndlovu

Fifteen year old Hastings Ndlovu was shot in the head by police and died after arriving at a nearby clinic. Hastings’s parents, brother and three sisters left Johannesburg shortly after his death but returned a few years later. His former home located at 7235 Thabete Street in Soweto, Johannesburg was marked with a blue plaque on June 16, 2012 in memorial of the boy. Thirteen year old Hector Pieterson was shot by police on the corner of Moema and Vilakazi Streets near Orlando West High School.

 

 

Foreground, left to right: Antoinette Sithole and Mbuyisa Makhubo carrying Hector Peterson

A fellow student, 18-year-old Mbuyisa Makhubo, picked Hector off the ground and began running to get him into the car of news photographer Sam Nzima. Nzima snapped a photo of Makhubo carrying Hector Pieterson as Hector’s 17-year-old sister,  Antoinette Sithole ran alongside them.

 

 

Makhubo placing thirteen year old Hector Pieterson into Nzima’s car

Hector was placed into Sam Nzima’s car and driven by journalist Sophie Tema to a nearby clinic where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. What had begun in Soweto quickly spread across the nation of South Africa. By the end of the day on June 16, 1976 the government reported 23 deaths including two white police officers who were either beaten or stoned to death by the crowd. By the end of June 1976 the numbers had risen to 176 killed and thousands more injured, but modern estimates suggest approximately 700 people were killed in total; The Soweto Uprising had a major impact on South Africa’s socio-political landscape.

 

 

Sam Nzima’s iconic photo of Hector Pierterson. [Originally “Pitso”, the family adopted the surname “Pieterson” to pass as ‘Coloured’. During the Apartheid, ‘Coloured’ citizens received more privileges than ‘Black’ citizens.

 Sam Nzima’s photo went on to become a famous symbol of the movement forcing him and Mbuyisa Makhubo to go into hiding due to extreme harassment by police and members of the National Party. On August 21, 1976 Mbuyisa Makhubo said he was going to Durbam. He then told his mother he was “tired of running” and illegally crossed the border to Botswana to escape the hostile environment in South Africa. While in Botswana, he had a son, Thato, with Keneilwe Mokgele. The last time his mother had any form of contact with Mbuyisa was in 1978 when he sent he a letter from Nigeria. He wrote that he had “every sickness in the book” and was unhappy in Nigeria. He said he wanted to walk to Jamaica. His family stated they got the impression from his letter he was mentally unwell at the time. Mbuyisa’s mother, Nombulelo, died in 2002 assuming her son was imprisoned or dead, having only heard from him once in the 26 years since he went into hiding. On Feburary 11, 2014, Mbuyisa’s younger brother, Raul, received photos and information on a man who had been living in Canada since 1988 under the name “Victor Vinnetou”.

 

“Victor Vinnetou”, believed to be Mbuyisa Makhubo, the student who carried Hector Pieterson.

“Victor” had been detained in Canada since August 10, 2004 for being found living in the country without citizenship or proper documentation. After uncovering “Victor Vinnetou”‘s past experiences matched those of Mbuyisa Makhubo from speaking about his experiences on June 16th to knowing specific details about the Makhubo’s family home in South Africa. The man was also found to have a moon-shaped birthmark on the left side of his chest which indicated to his living relatives “Victor” was in fact, Mbuyisa Makhubo. Following this discovery, the Department of Arts and Culture began working to bring Mbuyisa home to South Africa; However, after performing a DNA test, the results were found to be “inconclusive”. Raul said he was told by Paul Mashatile, the Minister of The Department of Arts and Culture at that time that the “inconclusive” results were announced as a way to buy more time for Mbuyisa to repatriate. Obviously, this is an incredibly emotional process for Mbuyisa Makhubo’s family and due to partial paralysis from a stroke in 2013 and being diabetic, Raul has not been involved in the process of bringing Mbuyisa back to South Africa since his initial involvement. Instead, Mbuyisa’s oldest sister, Nontsikelelo has taken over the process and is trying to reach out to the nation of France on behalf of the family to receive the assistance they need to retrieve Mbuyisa from Canada. The family is working to raise money to finally meet “Victor Vinnetou” in person and confirm his suspected identity. They plan to appeal to both the Canadian and South African governments to bring their long-lost brother home.
Both Hector Pieterson and Hastings Ndlovu were buried in the Avalon Cemetery in Soweto, Johannesburg. The Apartheid ended in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became the first black President of South Africa and the National Party’s rule ended. Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for his role as a leader in the anti-Apartheid movement worked once again to eradicate the unjust laws put into place by the National Party once released from prison in 1990. Today in South Africa, June 16th is observed as ‘National Youth Day’, a day when the country honors young people and sheds light on the needs of students’.

 On June 16, 2015, the 39th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, school children remembered the sacrifices made by Hector Pieterson, Hastings Ndlovu and other young protesters in 1976 by staging a reenactment of the bloody and pivotal day in South African history.

The following video features Antoinette Sithole discussing the events of June 16, 1976 and offers additional information on the death of Hector Pieterson.

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Mummified Body of WWII Pilot Discovered 66 Years Later

 

Mummified remains of Boris Lazarev

On February 21, 1943, two P-40 fighters and five Hurricanes (British single-seater fighter aircraft) took off from the Soviet Military air base in Chupa on a World War II mission to halt an attack by the German Luftwaffe.

 

 

WWII Hurricane

One of the Hurricanes was piloted by 22-year-old Boris Alexandrovich Lazarev from the 760th IPA. During the mission, he encountered German pilot Oberfeldwebel Rudolf Muller of 6 Jagdgeschwader, 5the fighter squadron Luftwaffe (German Air Force) “Expertenstaffel” and his squad of four Bf 109G fighters. Lazarev was shot down by Muller near a railway station in Polyarnyi-Krug.

Recovering the body of Boris Lazarev in 1998

His remains were not discovered until 1998 after Jury Rybin, a military history, discovered details of the dogfight while searching through archives. A swamp nearby where Lazarev’s Hurricane was shot down was searched and the plane wreckage was discovered with the 66-year-old mummified remains of Boris Lazarev still inside. The anaerobic conditions of the swamp, as well as the gasoline and oil present in the area from his crashed craft aided in preserving the body as well as personal belongings of the deceased.  
The body was almost entirely intact; His feet were cut off at the ankles, most likely caused by the force of the crash and his face showed signs of blunt force trauma caused the pilot’s head slamming into the instrumental panel on impact.  
Inside the cockpit, found alongside Boris’s severed feet, were flying goggles and a handmade knife with the inscription, “Friend Bors in the second year of the war.”
Inside his suit pockets were two letters, Komsomol cards, a book on the ‘Red Army’ and bullets
from a TT pistol which was still in his belt.   Also discovered was a knife from a German paratrooper, German coins, Soviet medals and various documents. From his position, with hands at his straps, it is believed Boris was attempting to leave the aircraft by opening the canopy and using his parachute. Most likely after his aircraft was struck, he decended in altitude too quickly for him to manage an escape and died on impact due to a blow to his chest caused by the strong kick of the control panel. Boris Lazarev would be the last pilot Rudolf Muller would shoot down. Ironically, on April 19, 1943 Muller’s own aircraft was shot down and he was sent to a Soviet prison camp. Rudolf Muller was executed on October 21, 1943, exactly eight months after the death of Lazarev, while attempting to escape the facility. Boris Lazarev was buried with military honors in the cemetery in Chupa, Kareloan Republic and the remnants of his crashed aircraft are housed at the Central Milotary History Museum at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. To this date, no living relatives of Boris Lazarvez have been found.   

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Stage 7: Skeletonization

Partially skeletonized corpse. Decomposing skin remains in some areas.

The 7th and final stage of decomposition, skeletonization, begins when soft tissue has dried and decayed to the point that parts of the skeleton are visible. Skeletonization is complete once all tissue has decomposed and all that is left of the corpse is bone. Remains may become reduced to bone in as little as three weeks but can take up to several years. Factors including temperature and environment determine the timeline of skeletonization. In a tropical climate the body may be reduced to bone in just a few weeks, in tundra, the process will take several years. Skeletonization may never occur if the corpse is in an environment with persistent subzero temperatures as seen in bodies left behind on Mt. Everest.

Body of George Herbert Leigh Mallory on Mt. Everest. Died on British expedition in 1924. His corpse (discovered May 1,1999) remains in pristine condition to this day due to extreme cold. Photo courtesy Atlas Obscura.

Instead of decomposing, remains of climbers who perished have been preserved due to the extreme cold and now act as trail markers up the treacherous mountainside. The bodies of those who die on Mt. Everest usually remain because an attempt to reach and recover the corpse would most likely prove to be unsuccessful, possibly resulting in another fatality. When the corpse is left in a peat bog or salt desert, skeletonization may be delayed, or natural embalming or spontaneous mummification can occur. The body may saponify, or become “adipocere” if left in certain environments, including a peat bog. This is a rare form of spontaneous mummification seen in the Mutter Museum’s “Soap Lady” who saponified in an alkaline, warm environment which was lacking air. While it is not common, it is possible for a corpse to undergo skeletonization in one area of the body, while experiencing some form of natural preservation in another.

The Soap Lady saponified, causing the corpse to become a soapy, wax-like substance called adipocere. Photo courtesy of the Mutter Museum.

In an area void of scavenging animals, bodies buried in acidic soil will take approximately 20 years to complete skeletonization and for bone to decompose to the point that practically no evidence of the body is left. In soil with a neutral PH level, a corpse can last as long as 100 years before bone has decayed almost completely. There is also a possibility bone may not deteriorate and the skeleton could instead become a fossil or crude oil.

Fully skeletonized corpse. Bones have begun to deteriorate. Photo courtesy Bones Don’t Lie.

 

Read about the Stages of Decomposition leading up to Skeletonization Stage 1: Pallor Mortis, Stage 2: Algor Mortis, Stage 3: Rigor Mortis, Stage 4: Livor Mortis, Stage 5: Putrefaction, and Stage 6: Biotic Decomposition 

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Thich Quang Duc: Monk on Fire

The Self-Immolation of Thich Quang Duc

On June 11, 1963 amidst what became known as the “Buddhist Crisis” a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk known as Thich Quang Duc self-immolated (committed sacrificial suicide) at a busy intersection in Saigon. While Malcolm Browne’s Pulitzer Prize winning photo of Thich Quang Duc during self-immolation is one of the most famous and powerful photographs to this day, many people do not know what led the monk to end his life in protest.

Thich Quang Duc

Thich Quang Duc was born as “Lam Van Tac” in 1897 in Hoi Khan in the Van Ninh District, Khanh Hou province of Vietnam to Lam Huu Ung and Nguyen Thi Nuong. One of several children, Thich Quang Duc left his family at the age of eight to begin studying Buddhism under his uncle and spiritual master, Hoa Thuong Thich Hoang Tham, who raised him as though he were his own son. When Thich Quang Duc was fifteen, he took his Samanera (novice) vows and changed his name to Nguyen Van Khiet. At twenty he became an ordained monk and was given the name “Thich Quang Duc”. “Thich” (short for “Thich Ca”) is the surname given to all Mahayana Vietnamese Buddhist monks and nuns. The name means “Sakya” and indicates they are “sons of Sakyamuni the Buddha”. “Quang Duc” is a Dharma name which is traditionally chosen by one’s spiritual leader and is descriptive of the person’s admirable attributes. Once he became an ordained monk, Thich Quang Duc chose to travel to a mountain near Ninh Hoa to live in solitude; Afterwards, he opened the Thien Loc pagoda near the mountain on which he had spent three years as a hermit. In 1932 Thich Quang Duc was appointed as an inspector of monks for the Buddhist Association in Ninh Hoa, later being appointed as inspector to his home province of Khanh Hoa. Duc devoted two years to studying the traditions of Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia. He spent much of his life spreading the teachings of Buddhism throughout southern Vietnam and in his lifetime, was responsible for the construction of 31 Buddhist temples; One of them being the Quan The Am pagoda in the outskirts of Saigon. The street the temple sits on is now named after Thich Quang Duc in honor of his work and the sacrifice he made for the Buddhist population through self-immolation.

Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem

Vietnam’s first President, Ngo Dinh Diem was a devout Roman Catholic who took office in 1955. While the Roman Catholic minority had long been favored by French colonists in the area, Diem was well-known for severely persecuting the Buddhist population within the country. At the time, 70%-90% of the population was Buddhist and had been suffering mass discrimination during Diem’s presidency. Many Roman Catholic priests had formed their own armies which were instructed to brutalize the Buddhist population and force them to convert their religion under threat. The government refused to intervene while Buddhist pagodas were being looted and destroyed by these Catholic troops. The Buddhist flag had been banned in Vietnam and on May 8, 1963 during a protest regarding the ban, nine unarmed Buddhist protestors were shot and killed by government guards in the city of Hue. While Ngo Dinh Diem blamed communist terrorists, it was perfectly clear he had a hand in the shootings. On June 10 a spokesperson for the Vietnamese Buddhist population quietly informed a U.S. journalist covering the Buddhist Crisis that “something important” would happen the next day on the road outside the Cambodian Embassy in the city of Saigon. Three-hundred and fifty Buddhist monks and nuns carrying protest banners marched down the street that day while Thich Quang Duc and two other monks rode in a car.

The car Thich Quang Duc rode in to his June 11, 1963 self-immolation.

Once they were near the busy Saigon intersection, Thich Quang Duc and his companions exited the car as the protesters surrounded them in a protective circle. One monk placed a cushion in the road for Thich Quang Duc to sit on. He sat on the cushion in the lotus position before taking out his wooden holy beads and chanting, “Nam mo A di da Phat”, a prayer to Amida Buddha.

 One of the monks accompanying him retrieved a 5 gallon petrol can from the vehicle and began to douse Thich Quang Duc in petroleum. After the prayer was finished, Thich Quang Duc self-immolated with the aid of another monk who lit the match.

 David Halberstam, who witnessed the event wrote, “I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring.

 In the air was the smell of human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think…

 As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.”.

It took approximately 10 minutes for the 66-year-old monk to completely self-immolate. Once the fire that had consumed Thich Quang Duc began to burn out, monks covered his smoldering body in yellow robes and placed his corpse inside a wooden coffin. The monks were unable to straighten his charred body; One arm protruded from the coffin as his remains were carried to the Xa Loi pagoda.

 Astoundingly, despite being “re-cremated” at his funeral, the heart of Thich Quang Duc remained unscathed and was placed in a glass chalice where it, along with his ashes, remained at the Xa Loi pagoda. Photos of Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation circulated the world, putting more pressure on President Ngo Dinh Diem to reform his policies as he had previously promised the citizens of Vietnam.

  American President John F. Kennedy commented on the photo saying, “No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one.” Still, the Buddhist Crisis of Vietnam continued. In August of 1963 Diem arrested over 1,000 Buddhists in the cities of Hue and Saigon and conducted massive raids on Buddhist pagodas including Xu Loi. During the raid, two monks managed to escape with the urn containing the martyred monk’s ashes. Unfortunately, Duc’s heart was confiscated by government forces. Many Buddhist monks across Vietnam were killed, others chose to join Duc in self-immolation to ensure their death would matter. Finally, on November 2, 1963 a coup was staged on President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother/advisor, Ngo Dinh Nhu, who many believe may have been behind most of the anti-Buddhist policies across Vietnam.  After being arrested and promised safety in return for their surrender, Diem and Nhu were assassinated in the back of a truck while being transported to military headquarters. It began when Nhu was stabbed with a bayonet 15-20 times by one of the arresting officers (who Nhu had been insulting during transport) while the truck was stopped at a train crossing.

Body of President Ngo Dinh Diem after his assassination.

Diem was then shot in the head with a revolver at point-blank range. When it was noticed Nhu was still barely clinging to life, he too was shot in the head and killed. The assassinations of President Diem and his brother, Nhu, proved to be a huge turning point in the Vietnam War. Before his self-immolation, Thich Quang Duc documented his final thoughts in a letter, “Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngo Dinh Diem to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha [meaning “association”/”community” in Sanskrit and usually referring to ordained monks and nuns] and the lay Buddhists to organize in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.”.

The heart of Thich Quang Duc

Thich Quang Duc’s heart was recovered and is now kept in the Reserve Bank of Vietnam; It is considered to be a holy relic. Due in part to the miraculous preservation of Thich Quang Duc’s heart, he was deemed a Bodhisattva, “Enlightened Being”.

The following is news footage of the Buddhist Crisis in Vietnam and the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc on June 11, 1963 in Saigon. If you only wish to watch the self-immolation, skip to 6:00 minutes.

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The Bombing of Guernica

The infamous Bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on the town of Guernica in Basque County, Spain that took place on April 26, 1937. The attack, which lasted three hours, was carried out by the German Air Force’s Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria, at the request of the Spanish National Government during the Spanish Civil War, often refered to as “dress rehearsal” for World War II. Although modern estimates range from 153-400 civilians killed in the raid on the Spanish town, the Basque government reported 1,654 deaths and Russian records from May 1, 1937 claim 800, not including those resulting from injury or bodies which were later recovered from the rubble. Guernica suffered one of the first raids carried out by an air force on a defenseless civilian population in modern times. The bombing and its aftermath were so horrific, the event went onto inspire Picasso’s anti-war painting ‘Guernica’ and was featured in a woodcut by German artist Heinz Kiwitz, who died while fighting for the International Brigades on the side of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The Bombing of Guernica, code name “Operation Rugen”, was executed in 5 waves of air strike with at least 45 aircraft. During the first wave, twelve 110lb (50kg) bombs were dropped on the city, the following wave destroyed the bridge to the east of the town preventing citizens from escaping. Fighter pilots were given specific instruction to not bomb the town itself, only possible escape routes during the second wave. Still, 36 additional 110lb (50kg) bombs were dropped on the city during a 60 second pass over Guernica from north to south. The three following waves of attack on the city caused the most devastation, destroying 3/4 of the buildings.    

Josefinas Hospital was only one of many buildings destroyed in the bombing, when it was hit all 42 wounded militiamen inside the building were killed. Another 50 people, most of whom were women and children, were found trapped under burning wreckage. Those who tried to escape were shot and witnesses say there were thousands of bullets fired. Some did make it out of the town and hid in fields as far as 4 miles away from the burning city of Guernica. Even most who made it to these fields were shot down. One priest who survived, when asked what had happened in his town, pointed back towards Guernica and whispered, “Aviones… Bombas’… Mucho, mucho.” Which translates to, “Aircraft… Bombed… Much, much.”. People inside the city were hiding in shelters and praying. Aronategui, an elderly priest who was unable to make it out if the city was killed while rescuing children from a burning building. The flames engulfing the city could be seen from ten miles away and th fires lasted three days. Survivor accounts from inside the town after the attacks are horrific: a thick stench of burning human flesh, Basque soldiers sobbing and frantically trying to recover bodies from the rubble to no avail.

In the aftermath, approximately 100 survivors say in the town plaza in shock. Amazingly, the only things left of the city after the attack were The Santa Maria Church, a 600 year old tree which was a sacred symbol to the Basque people, and a small munitions factory on the outskirts of town.

George Steer of the New York Times visited Guernica shortly after the attack and reported on what he experienced there in his piece, The Tragedy of Guernica Town Destroyed in Air Attack Eye Witness Account published in The New York Times on April 22, 1937. Steer commented, “A sight that will haunt me for weeks was the charred bodies of several women and children huddled together in what had been the cellar of a house.” The Bombing of Guernica and its 7,000 citizens is still considered to be unparalleled in military history today.

  

Read George Steer’s New York Times Article The Tragedy of Guernica Town Destroyed in Air Attack Eye Witness Account from April 22, 1937 in its entirety 

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Boris Nemtsov Murdered in Moscow

Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov, former Deputy Prime Minister under Boris Yeltsin and the leading Russian Opposition politician was shot four times in the back while crossing a bridge on foot near St. Basil’s Cathedral and The Kremlin. The assassination, which took place in the late evening on Friday, February 27 was carried out by an unknown gunman in a car. Nemtsov, who had once served as governor of Russian city Nizhny Novgorod, had begun receiving death threats over social media. The 55 year old and was visiting Moscow to gain support for a march against the war on Ukraine which would have taken place in the Russian capitol on Sunday. In light of Nemtsov’s death, the scheduled March 1st protest evolved into a rally in memory of the fallen politician. Tens of thousands of protestors attended, many carrying the image of Boris Nemtsov and signs sporting the phrase, “I am not afraid”, as chants of “Russia without Putin” broke out within the crowd. While Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has condemned the killing and claimed he has taken “personal control” of the murder investigation, Nemtsov expressed in an interview on February 10th, “I’m afraid Putin will kill me”. Boris Nemtsov had reason to fear for his life due to his activism and openness regarding his strong opposition to war in Ukraine and many of President Putin’s policies. Law enforcement believes the assassination to be, “a provocation aimed at destabilizing the country”, which was already unstable before the Russian Opposition leader was gunned down. Nemtsov has been described as the “bridge between Russia and Ukraine”, perhaps an ironic comparison, eerily foreshadowing his death.

America’s Next Top Model’s Mirjana, Murdered

On Tuesday February 24, former America’s Next Top Model contestant Mirjana Puhar was one of the victims of a triple-homicide in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mirjana, who was only 19 years old, was shot to death alongside her boyfriend, Jonathan Alvarado (23) and his best friend/roommate, Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia (21). The shooting took place in the home of Alvarado and Gonzaga-Garcia shortly after Mirjana had moved in with her boyfriend, who she had only been seeing for a short time, according to those closest to the murdered model. Their bodies were discovered by friends of the couple after hearing gunshots coming from inside the home. The friend who saw the crime scene before police also noted large amounts of money scattered throughout the house. The murderer, 19 year old Emmanuel Jesus Rangel is currently in police custody and has been charged with three counts of 1st degree murder. Rangel has also been charged with a separate murder which he committed on the morning of Sunday February 22, although it is unclear if the shootings are in any way related. Investigators claim Emmanuel Rangel knew the victims of the triple-homicide and their shooting deaths may have been drug-related. Mirjana Puhar, who was born in Serbia, was the 8th place finalist on the recent 21st Cycle of America’s Next Top Model: Guys & Girls. Coming into the competition with a “boyfriend back home”, Puhar immediately struck up intimate relations with Matthew, a fellow competitor, cuddling with him in her bed at night. Once Matthew learned of Mirjana’s relationship status, he broke things off with her. On the very next episode, Mirjana turned her affections towards Denzel, another male model in the house (the man with the horrible beard weave) and quickly began referring to him as her “boyfriend”. As the two continued their affair, flagrantly advertising their sexual relationship, Mirjana would occasionally comment that she should call her long-term boyfriend back home to end her relationship with him. After learning Denzel was not interested in a serious relationship with her, she ended their courtship and called her boyfriend to admit to her unfaithfulness. Failing to mention Matthew, or the fact that she and Denzel had engaged in intercourse on several occasions, her boyfriend forgave her. It would seem that relationship ended as well after he watched the reality show and found Mirjana had been openly cheating on him for quite some time and had not been entirely truthful in her confession. Mirjana’s North Carolinian boyfriend during her time on America’s Next Top Model had nothing to do with her murder and that of her new beau as far as police know. When interviewed by The Charlotte Observer, Marjana stated she was a “wild child” and did not “have the best influences around” her. More information on the murder of reality TV star Mirjana Puhar as it becomes available.

14 Most Violent Valentine’s Days

Most people observe the 14th of February as a day to celebrate love and romance, but those of us who are a bit twisted know all too well that the holiday has proven throughout history to be more murderous than mushy. Whether you’re celebrating Single’s Awareness Day alone or you’re cuddled up with your Suicide Girl and preparing to watch ‘Faces of Death’ this evening, if you are overwhelmed by the cheesiness of Valentine’s Day here are 14 morbid facts about February the 14th:

1. St. Valentine was a Roman Holy Priest who is known for marrying soldiers in secret during a time in which all marriages and engagements were strictly forbidden. The Roman Empire was building its army and felt family ties were a hindrance to active and potential soldiers. For performing these ceremonies, St. Valentine was sentenced to death. During his imprisonment, he formed a friendship with the jailer’s daughter. Before his execution, he left her a note and signed it “From Your Valentine”. On February 14th circa 270 (there are many years in which this may have taken place, no one is certain) St. Valentine was bludgeoned to death with clubs and decapitated.

2. King of England, Richard II died of starvation on February 14, 1400 while imprisoned in Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire. King Richard II, who was only 33 years old at the time of his death, was deposed by Parliament and succeeded by his cousin, Henry IV.

3. On February 14, 1779 Captain James Cook, an English explorer and navigator landed on the beaches of Hawaii with his crew. As they debarked, they were met by very angry natives who began hurling rocks at them. Cook tried to negotiate with native leader King Kalaniopuu. Unfortunately, those negotiations did not go over well after  Cook’s crew had shot a lesser chief of the tribe to death. A mob of natives attacked the Captain and his crew who retaliated with gunfire. Despite the superior weapons sported by Cook and his crew, they were engulfed by the Hawaiian natives. Captain Cook was killed in the battle, and only a handful of his men managed to escape the island and the wrath of its people.

4. In 1929, six associates of the Northside Irish gang (run by Bugs Moran) and one car mechanic were ambushed and killed in an execution style shooting in a Chicago, Illinois warehouse (2122 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park). These murders have gone on to be known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”. While it is widely believed the attack was carried out by members of Al Capone’s Southside Italian gang, Deidre Capone, Al’s niece, defends her late uncle’s innocence. When police arrived, John May (mechanic), Albert Weinshank, Reinhardt Schwimmer, Adam Heyer, Albert Kachellek, and brothers Peter and Frank Gusenberg lying side by side along one wall. The objective of the attack was to take out Bugs Moran himself, but the unknown assassins mistook Albert Weinshank, who bore a striking resemblance to Moran, as the infamous mob leader. All were found dead except Frank Gusenberg who was barely clinging to life after being shot fourteen times. When police repeatedly questioned Frank as to who shot him he replied, “No one- nobody shot me.”, adhering to ‘omerta’, a rule of absolute silence within the gang.

5. On February 14, 1943, Frieda Reiss, an 11 month old baby deported from France was murdered in Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp.

6. Adolph Dubs, US ambassador to Afghanistan was on his way to the US embassy on Feburary 14, 1979 when his car was stopped by four men. The men forced the driver, at gunpoint, to drive to the Kabul Hotel where Dubs was held hostage in Room 117. His kidnappers had hoped to have Afghani prisoners in the US released, in exchange for the ambassador. Despite the United State’s wishes to hold off in order to ensure Dubs’s safety, Afgahnistan police forces stormed the hotel and opened gunfire on the room in which Adolph Dubs was being held captive. After a 40-60 second exchange of gunfire, Dubs was found slumped in a chair, killed by two shots to the head. Two of his captors were killed in the attack, as well.

7. Juan Manuel Navarro showed up at the home of Ignacia Manriquez, his ex-girlfriend, on Valentine’s Day 1993. The couple had three children together, but Manriquez had taken out a restraining order on Navarro after their break-up. One of their children, seeing his father outside, opened the door and allowed him in the house. Ignacia brought out the restraining order and told him to leave, but he refused. Navarro then followed his ex and their three children to the parking lot of a local supermarket in San Bernardino, California where witnesses say the two were engaged in an altercation outside Ignacia’s vehicle. Juan then shot Ignacia in the head at point blank range. As she fell onto the pavement of the parking lot, Navarro shot her again in the stomach and twice in the head while their four year old son watched. When the four year old boy was asked by police to recount the traumatic event he stated, “There is ketchup everywhere.”.

8. In 2000, three tornadoes unexpectedly touched down in Georgia between February 13th and 14th. Many were caught off guard as February is a highly unusual time of year for the Southern United States to experience tornadoes. It was the single deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States between June 1999 and October 2002, killing 18 total while injuring countless more and nearly destroying the Georgia towns of Camilla and Meigs.

9. 53 year old John Hamilton of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma came home on Valentine’s Day 2001 to find his wife of 14 years, Susan, lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of her own blood. She had been strangled with two of John’s ties and her head had been severly beated to the poin that parts of her brain were exposed. Blood on John’s shirt was found not to be from an attempt to recessetate his wife as he had claimed, but was consistent with blood splatters found when smashing someone’s head in. John Hamilton was later accused and imprisoned for his wife’s  murder.

10. A terrorist group known as  “The Nasra & Jihad Group in Greater Syria” detonated a truck bomb packed with an estimated 1,000 kg of explosives in Lebanon on Febrarary 14, 2005. The explosion, which took place in Beirut near the St. George Hotel, killed 21 people and injured approximately 220. Those killed in the attack include Bassel Fleihan, former Minister of Ecology in Lebanon and Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri.

11. Stephen Grant of Washington Township, Michigan reported his wife Tara’s disappearance to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office on February 14, 2007. Stephen claimed his wife had gone missing 5 days prior after she was overheard on the phone saying, “I’ll meet you at the end of the driveway” before getting into a “mysterious dark vehicle” and driving off. Police became suspicious, and during a search of the couple’s home found Tara’s torso in the garage. Later, other body parts were found scattered throughout the nearby woods. Stephen eventually confessed to his wife’s murder, telling investigators he had strangled her to death before dismembering her body.

12. On Febrary 14, 2008 the fifth deadliest school shooting in the United States took place at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. The shooter, Steven Kazmierczak, shot and killed five students and injured twenty-one before taking his own life. The entire event occurred in only 6 minutes, between 3:05 and 3:11 pm.

13. South African sprint runner Oscar Pistorius is a double-amputee (legs, below knee), Paralympic Champion who shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in their home on Valentine’s Day 2013. Pistorius, who claims he believed her to be an intruder, was recently convicted of culpable homicide and is currently serving a five year prison sentence.

14. TODAY, Feburary 14th, 2015, Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath (23), Randall Steven Shepherd (20), an unidentified 23-year-old American female and 19-year-old Canadian male had planned to shoot as many people as possible in the Halifax Shopping Center before killing themselves. This shopping center is the largest regional shopping mall in Canada and could have resulted in multiple murders. The unidentified 19-year-old Canadian was found dead in his home, presumably as a result of suicide. The other “Murderous Misfits”, as they are being called, are in police custody.

From the same demented mind that brought you The Post-Mortem Post: FREAK