Staff Reporter
Three people convicted of kidnapping, robbing and murdering renowned husband and wife botanists Dr Rodney Saunders and Dr Rachel Saunders have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Durban High Court.
The NPA said it “welcomes the cumulative sentence of double life and 23 years’ imprisonment” imposed on Fatima Bibi Patel, 36, Sayefudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, 46, and Musa Jackson, 43, after their convictions on charges of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and two counts of murder.
Del Vecchio was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for malicious injury to property.
The convictions relate to the kidnapping and murder of the Saunders in February 2018, in the Ngoye Forest in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal.
Dr Rodney Saunders, 73, and Dr Rachel Saunders, 64, held dual South African and British citizenship and lived in Cape Town. Before travelling to the Ngoye Forest, they had completed filming for a BBC documentary in the Drakensberg.
The NPA said the couple arrived in the Ngoye Forest on 8 February 2018, in search of rare and unique seeds. They were travelling with research equipment and camping gear when they were accosted by Patel, Del Vecchio and Jackson.
The couple were kidnapped and robbed of their personal belongings. The accused later gained access to banking applications on the Saunders’ mobile phones and carried out numerous electronic transfers, cash withdrawals and Bitcoin purchases amounting to more than R700,000.
After a missing persons report was filed, investigators obtained information linking the accused to the disappearance. Police secured a court order to monitor activity on the Saunders’ bank accounts and identified a series of suspicious transactions.
Through real-time monitoring, investigators observed an ATM withdrawal in the Salt Rock area. Further inquiries, including the collection of surveillance footage from shopping centres and ATMs, led to the identification of Del Vecchio’s vehicle.
Police then placed Patel and Del Vecchio under surveillance, hoping they would lead investigators to the missing couple.
During one shopping excursion at a mall in Westville, a cashier became suspicious of the accused while processing a transaction using one of the Saunders’ bank cards. The cashier retained the card and contacted the bank for verification.
After unsuccessfully trying to retrieve the card, the accused hurriedly left the mall and returned to their homestead in Mtunzini. Police then launched an operation to arrest the suspects and search for the Saunders.
Following the arrests of Patel and Del Vecchio, police searched the premises and recovered numerous items belonging to the Saunders, as well as goods bought with their bank cards. A substantial amount of cash was also recovered.
In one of the dwellings, investigators found an item of clothing containing blood spatter. Forensic analysis later confirmed that the blood matched the DNA profiles of both victims.
Jackson evaded capture during the operation and was arrested about three weeks later.
The decomposed bodies of the couple were discovered a week later on the banks of the Tugela River.
The trial lasted three years and was conducted in camera because of security concerns. Proceedings took place under heavy security provided by members of the SAPS Special Task Force and National Intervention Unit.
For the State, Advocate Mahendra Naidu led evidence from 60 witnesses. These included medical experts, a forensic anthropologist, digital forensic specialists, a professor of dentistry, a financial investigator and cellphone data analysts.
Employees from various retail outlets where the accused used the Saunders’ bank cards also testified.
The State also led evidence relating to a separate malicious injury to property charge against Del Vecchio.
In September 2017, Del Vecchio set fire to three Tongaat Hulett farms in the area between Sibaya Casino and Umdloti after the company refused him entry to its properties. The fire caused extensive damage to sugarcane crops over an area of about 20 kilometres, resulting in losses estimated at R2.3 million. Del Vecchio fled the scene and remained at large.
On the malicious injury to property charge, the State presented evidence from Tongaat Hulett’s property manager and two security guards who were on duty when the sugarcane fields were set alight.
Because members of the Saunders family live in the United Kingdom, the State successfully applied for the proceedings to be relayed on a virtual platform so that family members could follow the judgment remotely.
In aggravation of sentence, Naidu led evidence from two witnesses closely associated with the Saunders.
The first witness, who had worked with the couple for more than two decades, described their deaths as a significant loss to the global field of botany. The witness testified that the Saunders were internationally recognised experts who had made immense contributions to botanical research, published extensively and played an important role in documenting South African biodiversity.
The second witness, a family member based in the United Kingdom, testified virtually about the devastating impact the murders had on the Saunders family. The witness described the anguish of learning of the couple’s kidnapping and the subsequent devastation of discovering that they had been murdered.
The State argued that the case had been significantly delayed by the conduct of the accused, including lengthy adjournments for consultations and the filing of 11 interlocutory applications.
Naidu submitted that the case attracted international attention and negatively affected South Africa’s reputation and tourism sector. He urged the court to impose severe sentences to send a clear message that South African society would not tolerate violent crimes of this nature.
The State also argued that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances justifying a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
“It was submitted that the murders were premeditated, brutal, and calculated and that the victims had been subjected to torture before being killed,” the NPA said.
For crimes committed against the Saunders, each accused was sentenced to life imprisonment on each of the two counts of murder, four years’ imprisonment for kidnapping, 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances and four years’ imprisonment for theft.
Del Vecchio was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for malicious injury to property relating to the damage caused to Tongaat Hulett’s farms.
The NPA said the accused would serve an effective sentence of life imprisonment and were all declared unfit to possess firearms.
“The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter. This was a complex prosecution that attracted significant national and international attention,” it said.
“The successful outcome is a testament to the close collaboration between the National Prosecuting Authority and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), supported by forensic experts, investigators, and other role players in the criminal justice system.”
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