Cornelius Burger (early 1900s – late 1930s) was a South African serial killer who, between 1936 and 1937, murdered five prostitutes in Johannesburg and took their handbags as souvenirs.
After one of his victims survived, Burger was arrested, but he did not stand trial due to the disease having spread to his brain, causing mental deterioration.
Between 1936 and 1937, he strangled five streetwalkers to death and dumped their bodies along Potchefstroom Road, which runs through present-day Soweto.
[2][3] The case was referred to the head CID Lieutenant, who, after getting permission from higher authorities, assembled a team of detectives to watch over streetwalkers as they worked.
[1] A medical examination found Burger unfit to stand trial on the grounds that his illness had already affected his brain.
He was instead sent to a psychiatric hospital, where his illness rapidly progressed, causing him to die a short time later.