Cape Town – A doctor testifying in the British couple’s murder case reportedly shared horrific details of the condition of the deceased’s bodies at the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Tuesday.
According to reports, respected botanists Rodney Saunders, 73, and his wife Rachel, 63, were allegedly murdered by Aslam Del Vecchio, his wife Fatima Patel and Ahmad Jackson in 2018.
The trio allegedly attacked the couple in northern KZN and tossed their bodies in a crocodile-infested Tugela River where they were found three days apart, News24 reported.
A doctor who conducted a postmortem on Rodney’s body told the court his body had started decomposing due to the amount of time spent in the water, the report said.
“The deceased’s body was partially damaged. The tongue was missing. I also saw lost tissue in the forearms, neck and chest.
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“The deceased had male genitalia which was decomposing. His teeth were taken for examination,” the doctor was quoted saying.
The doctor said there was evidence of “scavenger activity”, said the report.
The accused, Vecchio, 39, his wife Patel, 28, and Jackson, 35, have denied charges of kidnapping, murder, robbery and theft, IOL reported.
According to Daily Mail, Rodney and Rachel spent six months a year scouring wild mountains and forests for sought-after-stock for their thriving worldwide mail-order business.
But while on their travels, it was said they met a gruesome end when they were targeted, kidnapped, beaten to death and then put in their sleeping bags and thrown into a river infested with man-eaters, the report said.
On February 15 of the same year, Vecchio and his wife were both arrested after the Hawks found a link between the cell phones belonging to the Saunders and the cell phones of the suspects, while the third suspect was arrested on 23 March, the report said.
According to News24, the trial was expected to continue on Wednesday.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
