A police affidavit regarding Pearl Thusi’s 2011 brush with Thabo Bester has resurfaced after she shared her experience with the convicted rapist and murderer in the Netflix series, Beauty and the Bester.
The actress and TV presenter came face to face with the man dubbed the “Facebook Rapist”. Unlike his other victims, Thusi escaped unharmed.
PEARL THUSI’S POLICE AFFIDAVIT ON THABO BESTER ORDEAL RESURFACES
In a police affidavit written in 2013, as seen by the Sowetan – two years after meeting Thabo Bester – Pearl Thusi documented what happened.
According to the media personality, Bester pulled a knife out on her and demanded her possessions. Thusi managed to “negotiate” with the convicted rapist and murderer, and miraculously convinced him to accompany her to church.
She said, “I offered him help that would be better than stealing. I asked him why he didn’t build a better future, I offered him counselling at my church. I don’t remember exactly when he gave me a knife or threw it at the back of my car.”
During their ride, Thusi took Thabo Bester to speak with three people: her pastor, singer, and ordained minister, Kabelo Mabalane, and actor Tumisho Masha – who later described the convict as a “scam artist”.
Thusi then proceeded to her house, where she picked up her sister and a gift for Bester.
“I also collected a Bible and wrote a message in it and gave it to him”, she added.
Thusi claimed that she had kept Bester’s knife in her home, but had promised to hand it over to the authorities.
In Beauty and the Bester, Pearl Thusi added that Bester ended the night in a police van, and she never saw or heard from him again.
CHILLING CONFESSION
Months after meeting Pearl Thusi, Thabo Bester would be accused of raping multiple women he had lured via Facebook under the guise of being a model scout.
He also murdered his girlfriend Nomfundo Tyhulu during a heated argument in Cape Town.
After his arrest, Thabo Bester spoke to forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne in a chilling confession caught on camera.
In the 20-minute clip, Bester claimed the murder was “accidental.” He also claimed that “if he wanted to” rape and murder his victims, he would have done things “differently.”
Referring to the murder of his girlfriend, Bester said: “My intentions were never to kill anyone. With her, I liked her, but things got twisted…and we had a fight.”
Images via YouTube screenshot: Netflix
Of being convicted of raping two women, he added: “The rapes happened in a way where I didnt know [I was committing rape] until I left the premises. If I knew I was doing rape, I could’ve covered myself up by using certain methods.
“It only became known to me when I left.”
Bester added: “All these incidents happened…But I also feel that you should not worry about leaving your woman in a room with me [or] that I will rape her.”
