Durban court silenced by details of British botanists’ murders and being thrown into crocodile-infested river

The horrific murders of two British botanists in South Africa, and the subsequent devouring of their bodies by crocodiles has been laid shockingly bare to a court by two pathologists in Durban.

Dr Rachel Saunders, 63, and husband Rod, 74, were brutally killed and their corpses wrapped in their own sleeping bags before being thrown off a bridge and into a crocodile-infested river.

A suspected ISIS gang then went on a £37,000 spending spree with their credit cards, after stealing their Toyota Landcruiser and their camping equipment and mobile phones.

Durban High Court sat in hushed silence as the pathologists – who cannot be named as they fear for their safety – spelled out how the devoted married couple met their grisly ends.

The botanists, who ran their own mail order seed business from Cape Town, spent six months in the wild every year collecting rare Gladioli seeds which they sold worldwide.

They had driven 900 miles from their home to meet a BBC documentary film crew in the Drakensberg Mountains to film an episode of Gardeners World with presenter Nick Bailey.

After filming, they headed off for the remote Ngoye Forest National Park 90 miles north of Durban, where they set up camp to go in search of rare Gladioli seeds for their business.

But they were spotted by criminals, and in text messages subsequently recovered from the accused killers’ mobile phones, were said to be an “elderly couple” who would be a “good hunt”.

The couple was allegedly tracked and brutally murdered, then fed to crocodiles by Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, his wife Bibi Fatima Patel, 31, and their lodger Mussa Ahmad Jackson, 37.

The trio – with alleged links to terrorist group ISIS – face charges of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and murder and have pleaded not guilty to all.

The Saunders’ bodies were said to have been wrapped in their sleeping bags and driven to the crocodile-infested Tugela River where they were thrown off a road bridge.

Their bodies were washed up within days but were so badly mutilated by crocodiles, and decomposed, it was months later until they were identified by DNA checks.

Rod’s body was found on 17 February 2018 and was identified only in April 2018 and Rachel’s body was found three days earlier but was identified only in June 2018.

Senior prosecutor Mahen Naidu called two forensic pathologists (who carried out post mortems on each body) to give chilling evidence to the court of their cruel end.

The pathologist who did the post mortem on microbiologist Dr Rachel Saunders said he could not at first tell whether the victim was male or female due to the injuries.

The doctor with 40 years’ experience said that Rachel’s body was “one of the most extreme cases” for which he had ever performed an autopsy in his whole career.

He said that she died from strangulation and stab wounds and blunt trauma injuries, then referred to the subsequent mutilation by crocodiles that left her unrecognisable.

“I performed the autopsy and I was not sure as to whether it was a male or a female body given its advanced decomposed state and due to the crocodile injuries.

“She had been dismembered.There were missing limbs – the right arm and a leg were not there.The groin was totally eaten out and there was no breast tissue.

“There was no way to determine the gender.I also saw fractures on the skull, spine, neck, and ribcage. There was no hair. There were also multiple stab wounds.”

Prosecutor Naidu asked the pathologist if he was aware the body was found in the Tugela River and asked if the injuries present were due to “scavenger activity”.

The pathologist agreed: “The violent nature in which the body was dismembered suggests crocodiles may have fed on it. There were ragged bites all over the body.

“However the stab wounds were well defined about 2cm deep and the marks on her neck suggested strangulation and the cause of death is due to multiple injuries.”

Earlier, another pathologist said that world renowned horticulturist Rod Saunders had died from blunt impact injury and had also been attacked by crocodiles in the river.

He said: ”Examination of the body showed evidence of scavenger activity, for example a crocodile, due to lost tissue on the arms, neck, and chest and a missing tongue.”

The horrific evidence of their murders and subsequent mutilation by crocodiles after their bodies were unceremoniously dumped off a river bridge left the court in silence.

The court had heard text messages between the trio had described the couple as a “good hunt” and discussed “killing the kuffar” saying they were in the forest.

The Saunders left their home in Cape Town where they ran their business Silverhill Seeds on February 4, 2018, and drove 900 miles to meet the BBC TV film crew.

They then moved onto the Ngoye Forest and the last contact with them was on February 8. A full scale police search was launched for them two days later.

The court was told:

”Around February 10 the investigating officer received information that Rodney Saunders and his wife Dr Rachel Saunders had been feared kidnapped.

“It was established on February 13 that the defendants were drawing money from ATMs which amounted to theft of R734,000 (£37,000) and there was the robbery of their Toyota Land Cruiser and camping gear.

“It is alleged that between February 10 and 15 at the Ngoye Forest the accused did unlawfully and intentionally kill Rachel Saunders and between the same dates did unlawfully and intentionally kill Rodney Saunders”.

The elite Hawks police squad had found a link between the cell phones belonging to Mr and Mrs Saunders, and the cell phones of the suspects; and arrested the three accused and charged them with murder.

They also found ISIS pamphlets and flags at the trios’ home.

The court heard: ”On March 23 the third accused Jackson was arrested and he made a statement to the effect he was woken by Patel at their home on February 10 and told to meet Del Vecchio on the road.

“Del Vecchio was in the Land Cruiser and Patel and Jackson followed to the Tugela River Bridge where they helped him remove the sleeping bags from the back and threw them with human bodies inside into the river.”

The victims’ Land Cruiser was recovered on February 19 with large amounts of blood inside.

South African born Rachel received British citizenship when she married British born Rod 30 years ago and the pair travelled the world giving lectures on their passion on the Gladioli of South Africa.

In 1995 Rod quit his job as nursery manager at the world famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and leading university microbiologist Rachel quit hers, and they set up Silverhill Seeds.

It was a successful business working from home, employing staff to sell their seeds around the world. The couple spent six months a year camping in the wild gathering stock to sell by mail order.

Married couple Del Vecchio and Patel and their lodger Jackson deny kidnap, murder, robbery and theft.

The Nile crocodile kills up to 300 people each year in South Africa.

The trial continues.

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