Whisked away by deception: Graham Hornigold's heartbreaking catfish tale featured in 'Con Mum'
Pastry chef Graham Hornigold unpacks how he was swindled by his 'Con Mum'.
Image: Netflix
If 'Con Mum' proves anything, it is that there are a lot of catfish out there and that they will continue to do what they do best.
'The Tinder Swindler', 'Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare', 'Inventing Anna' and 'Fanatical' are some of the streaming offerings that have exposed not just the deception and greed of con artists but also their lack of remorse.
While this genre has proven to be a goldmine for networks, I've grown wary of watching the same gullible actions on repeat, albeit in different scenarios.
With so many red flags, how are such responsible, learned people allowing themselves to be swindled?
Sadly, their emotional baggage has made them susceptible to opportunistic individuals.
Of late, there's been a lot of buzz around the Netflix documentary feature, which centres on Graham Hornigold, a talented and respected pastry chef who finds his life upended by a woman claiming to be his mother.
Leading a fulfilled life, Graham and his pastry chef wife Heather Kaniuk were looking forward to becoming first-time parents. However, just before the arrival of their bundle of joy, correspondence from an 80-something Dionne Marie Hanna changed the course of their life.
Having passed the test in terms of answering cursory questions, Graham and his wife agreed to meet his biological mother. Her nurturing demeanour saw them drop their guard, and he got to know his mother better. He wanted to make up for lost time, more so with his mother's ailing health.
Her gregarious personality was underpinned by her lavish lifestyle. It was unsettling for the couple, who come from a middle-income background.
Believing Dionne to be wealthy after her claims of belonging to the Brunei royal family, Graham and Heather found themselves being showered with expensive gifts like Range Rovers.
Dionne then asks Graham to accompany her to Switzerland, where she needs to transfer all her assets into his name.
However, the short trip gets extended and, while there, Dionne, unbeknownst to Graham, befriends and exploits a few other individuals.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
48 hours in pictures, 22 June 2025
Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world. Large dolls of Young-hee (L) and of newly revealed character Cheol-su from Netflix's South Korean series Squid Game season 3 are installed to promote the series in front of the Giant Swing and Wat Suthat Thepwararam temple in Bangkok, Thailand, 22 June 2025. The two killer dolls characters Young-hee and newly revealed Cheol-su have been installed ahead of the officially release of Squid Game 3 on 27 June 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Bonko Khoza opens up about life, fame and the pitfalls of the South African entertainment industry
South African actor Bonko Khoza opens up about fame, financial pitfalls and stresses in the entertainment industry. Image: Instagram During a visit to Lungelo KM's "Engineer Your Life" podcast, acclaimed actor Bonko Khoza delved deep into the intricacies of his life, his marriage and the challenges that come with fame. Khoza is currently the man of the moment on the small screen. He has earned high praise for his leading roles in the history-making Netflix movie, 'Heart of the Hunter' and the hit Showmax series, 'Red Ink' and "The Wife". Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'My heart is good' During the interview, Khoza reflected on his craft and exposed the harsh realities of the South African entertainment industry. Khoza began by discussing the awakening he has experienced regarding his personal philosophy. With a heartfelt message anchored in spirituality, he said: "My heart is good. I've been doing a lot of inner work with myself about the heart in relation to God. That's the heart's function in terms of cleaning out the tunnel between myself and God. "What I've come to learn, right now as I'm speaking to you, is that it's gratitude in terms of prayer, because it's validation of the present." Young hustler Rewinding to his early aspirations, Khoza shared a glimpse of his youthful pursuit of becoming a visual artist. He recalls starting out at an art school and juggling various odd jobs at Makro and Wimpy, as well as bartending. "I've been working for a long time, making my own pocket money or just cash to buy my own things." Addressing the sobering reality that many South African actors die broke, Khoza mentioned: 'The South African entertainment industry is no different in appearance or structure than anywhere in the world, but here we have real problems.' He pointed out that productions are often severely underfunded, leading to compensation that does not reflect the talent and dedication actors bring to their roles. 'I think there is a terrible stigma around producers underpaying people and I might put my head on the chopping block here, but the ecosystem is not that strong,' Khoza stated. 'Most of our legends die broke because, number one, it's not that glamorous, the fees aren't that great, and secondly, we don't have royalties.' Pay pitfalls He emphasised that actors remain financially vulnerable due to the nature of their contracts, which are often renewed annually, based on budget constraints. "At every job, you're just making enough for that job. It's crazy that the perception is that when someone sees you on TV, they think that you're making a crap ton of money, I don't know why human perception is that 'because I am public, I am rich'. "The people that are successful in the industry, I think have had great ways to manage that money or some kind of support. But if you are surviving purely on acting money, it's hard because you are not guaranteed your next job," he said. Reflecting on his exit from the popular show, "The Wife", Khoza shared that he does not allow public opinion to dictate his career moves. "I am never dictated by what other people think, not that I couldn't care less, I love an audience, I went to a theatre school, we engage with the audience, but my art is not measured by how someone else feels. Being human "I really try to do what I think is cool and what I think people will appreciate and just take it from there. "In this life now, the artist can quickly become the art. I am not the art, I am Bonko, I am the artist. Artists were never supposed to be famous. I was never supposed to be famous, I'm a piece of sh**. "I am not the cool guy, I've never been the cool guy. I'm introspective, I'm poetic, I'm deep, I cry, I am not the architype of a famous person and how that person suppose to engage." He acknowledged the precarious balance artists must maintain between their professional and personal lives, citing the stressors that arise when one neglects their humanity for the sake of their craft. "Being human is my job, everytime someone books me, I have to draw from the actual reality of it, and if I haven't lived the actual reality of it, there is nothing to draw from. "So when I was doing three season of 'The Wife' with barely no time to be human, it became dangerous to say at what point am I going to go back and be human again. And at the same time, the human was starting to go crazy." Watch the full podcast below.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
Insights from the Joshlin Smith case: A prosecutor's perspective on human trafficking
Robin-Lee Francke | Updated 6 hours ago Nearly a month after three people were sentenced for trafficking Joshlin Smith from Saldanha, the case remains a hot topic. While questions still surround the whereabouts of the green-eyed girl who captured the hearts of the nation, the State Prosecutor during the trial, Advocate Zelda Swanepoel, spoke about her perspective on the case. On May 29, Jacquen 'Boeta' Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn and Kelly Smith were sentenced to life imprisonment plus 10 years for trafficking in persons and kidnapping. Speaking on Thursday, Swanepoel said the moment she heard about the Joshlin case, she knew this was going to be difficult, as we (South Africa) had no precedent for a case of this kind. Limited evidence, a deluge of rumours, the ongoing investigation, criticism against the section 204 (State witness - former accused Laurenia Lombaard) witness, the need for corroboration, the reality that many witnesses suffer from drug addiction, and more were the challenges she knew they would face during the trial. 'We knew from the start. We were aware of conflicting versions. We foresaw this,' she said. The strategy was to rely on their most important witness, Lombaard, as well as Steven Coetzee. He testified that Kelly expressed she would be selling her children and how, by the next year (2024), Saldanha would look like a Netflix movie with cars, police, etc, alluding to how the area looked after Joshlin was reported missing on February 19, 2024. The State told the story from the beginning, from when two officers responded to the call of a missing child and presented their evidence in chronological order. 'We set the scene to prove that Joshlin was indeed missing,' Swanepoel said. 'Although we had to be innovative and adjust our strategy, we stuck to the initial plan for most of the trial. I usually draw up an action plan for a trial." She also expressed her disappointment that the convicted traffickers, especially Kelly, did not testify during the trial. She said in South Africa, there is no offence called human trafficking, and they realised there were gaps, but then decided to take this matter on trafficking in persons, whereby the person becomes the commodity, objectifying the person for the person for exploitation. This would fall within the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act (PACOTIP). Swanepoel said the most challenging matter in this case was the media presence. 'I felt like I was under a microscope all the time. My facial expressions, everything was out there,' she explained. She also explained that getting witnesses ready, knowing there was so much media attention. Witnesses also had nowhere to hide as everyone would be watching as they delivered their evidence. 'This case was extremely difficult and emotionally draining. We went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions all the time. It was extremely exhausting; we also had to drive in every day from Cape Town to Saldanha, bringing the law to the people. We were constantly working. Adapting to the trial plan. Behind the scenes, I was transcribing, which is tiring, documents had to be translated,' Swanepoel said. She said they also had to adjust to the tempo of the trial as the court sat full days, full weeks. 'The trial was 40 court days, which is a miracle. But, this means everybody adapted and cooperated,' Swanepoel said. She said the other challenges faced were from some critics, the political party's involvement, with criticism levelled throughout the trial. As well as the criticism expressed on social media. 'It is important to respect the role of law enforcement. It is also important to remember, we are all human,' she said. Swanepoel said the success was the landmark ruling in this case. This is the first time a conviction has been handed down for a trafficking in persons case where the child is sold and has not yet been found. 'The court found the specific exploitation in the form of slavery,' she said. This case was also filled with many firsts for her as a prosecutor. 'Doing a PowerPoint presentation whereby we illustrated a timeline of the events. We also produced an electronic mind map that illustrated different arguments. I have never used this for court. It worked, and the court incorporated some of our timeline in the judgment. ' Swanepoel said. She also praised the media's involvement. 'Because of the media, justice was brought to the people. I would like to say thank you for all their dedication every day. Throughout the process, they treated everyone with respect,' Swanepoel said. She further thanked Shakira Ganief, known on TikTok as Shakes Warrior for her assistance in getting video clips, and her selflessness in searching for Joshlin and her involvement in the case. Swanepoel also explained it was the first time in the country a Court Preparation Officer read out victim impact statements and further thanked everyone for their statements, especially Natasha Andrews for her heartfelt and personal video of Joshlin, which was played in court. 'This was a team effort. Several civil society organisations, community members were involved. The community really supported us throughout the trial. Always encouraging us, and it was so appreciated. A special thank you to the group of women who prayed every day at court, and the bouquets of flowers we received. I have been a prosecutor for over 30 years, and it is the first time I ever received flowers on a day of judgment,' Swanepoel said. When asked if she believed Joshlin was still alive, Swanepoel said: 'I cling to the hope. I am convinced she was not killed in Saldanha Bay or the surrounding areas. Where she is, I do not know. I can only hope we find her,' Swanepoel said. Speaking on her feelings before judgment and sentencing were handed down, Swanepoel said: 'We did not know how it would go. We were hopeful. The judge was firm. We hoped. We prayed. We all want justice. To me, I always do everything with prayer'. Swanepoel said they were relieved when things went in their favour and believes the sentence handed down was fair. [email protected] IOL
