Ep 6. Taken: The Sheldean Human Story

In Crimes Uncovered season 1 episode 6 titled "Taken: The Sheldean Human Story," the show delves into the chilling true account of the kidnapping and murder of a young girl named Sheldean Human. The episode begins by outlining the events leading up to Sheldean's disappearance, including her family's frantic search for her and the eventual discovery of her body in a shallow grave. The crime took place in South Africa in 1996 and this particular episode examines how the investigation played out and the extensive efforts law enforcement undertook to bring her abductor to justice.

What's immediately striking about this episode is how extensive the police investigation is, despite the fact that kidnapping cases in South Africe weren't completey new in the 90s. Law enforcement had to act quickly due to the nature of the crime, but also had to navigate cultural and social dynamics in the surrounding community where the crime was perpetrated. We see how detectives, forensics experts, and community members worked together to identify a suspect and gather evidence in a town where tensions were high and trust between law enforcement and residents was scarce.

Through interviews with detectives, journalists, and Sheldean's family, this episode provides a detailed examination of how the case was eventually solved. One particularly interesting element is how police officers managed to get a local man who saw the suspect on the days leading up to the crime to provide them with the crucial lead they needed. This helped to formalize their suspicions about who may have perpetrated the crime.

Crimes Uncovered investigates how detectives look at physical evidence and how this evidence helped them to implicate the kidnapper. For instance, the show provides a description of the physical evidence found in the shallow grave and how these items pointed to the identity of the perpetrator and method used. Now, while watching, you might get the impression that this is just a formulaic account of a police investigation, but the show balances this with a focus on the human impact of the crime. We see how Sheldean's death had a longstanding impact on the victim's family, and how they attempted to come to terms with their unimaginable loss.

The episode raises a broader question of how kidnapping cases can shake up a whole community. Obviously, when a young child goes missing entire families and communities become anguished. But this particular case played out while South Africa was amidst political and social turmoil. With these in mind, the episode didn't shy away from portraying the impact that this crime had on society-as-a-whole.

Taken: The Sheldean Human Story is an engrossing single story episode that portrays a gripping case from beginning to end. Its balance between the police investigation, plea for help from the community, and the human impact of the crime serves as a testament to the kind of true stories that can be both compelling and enlightening for viewers. As a crime series, Crimes Uncovered has never shied away from trying to find ‘the story behind the story’. This episode is yet another clear example of this effort.