A British couple was kidnapped, murdered and fed to crocodiles whereas looking out a nature reserve in South Africa for uncommon seeds, a courtroom heard Tuesday.
Horticulturist Rod Saunders, 74, and his spouse, microbiologist Dr. Rachel Saunders, 63, have been tenting within the distant Ngoye Forest Reserve once they disappeared in February 2018, the Each day Mail reported.
The couple was final heard from on Feb. 8, once they instructed an worker about their plans to camp within the reserve 30 miles north of Durban.
Police now say that Sayefundeen Aslam Del Vecchio, his spouse, Bibi Fatima Patel, and their tenant Mussa Ahmad Jackson kidnapped, robbed and murdered the couple on the night time of Feb. 10, the identical day they have been reported lacking.
Among the many proof introduced in Durban Excessive Court docket this week have been textual content messages from Del Vecchio to Patel and Jackson stating that there was an aged couple close by to “goal” for a “hunt.”
One other message to an unknown individual stated “it is vitally vital that the physique of the victims isn't discovered.”
Del Vecchio and Patel, who're believed to have flown an Islamic State flag at their residence, have been already on a watchlist once they have been arrested on Feb. 15, 2018.
When Jackson was taken into custody a number of weeks later, he reportedly instructed police how he and Patel helped Del Vecchio throw the sleeping bag-wrapped our bodies into the river.
Whereas each victims’ badly decomposed stays have been found inside days of the homicide, they have been unidentified for a number of months.
A search warrant additionally revealed receipts for objects bought with Rachel Saunders’ financial institution card in Patel’s purse, and led to the restoration of the victims’ bloodied Land Cruiser.
A fourth suspect was later found to have purchased cellphones belonging to the Saunderses. The person was given a suspended sentence in alternate for essential info.
Primarily based in Cape City, the Saunderses ran Silverhill Seeds, a web based ordering firm that bought uncommon seeds to prospects world wide. They usually spent half the 12 months trekking via mountains and forests for stock.
Within the days earlier than their disappearance, the Saunderses have been profiled for an episode of BBC’s “Gardener’s World.”
A selfie of them with presenter Nick Bailey is believed to be the final picture of them alive.
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