The gruesome murder of two British botanists in South Africa and the subsequent devouring of their bodies by crocodiles has been revealed in court by two pathologists.
Dr. Rachel Saunders, 63, and her husband, Rod, 74, were brutally murdered, their bodies wrapped in their own sleeping bags and thrown from a bridge into a crocodile-infested river.
A suspected ISIS gang then spent £37,000 on their credit cards after stealing their Toyota Land Cruiser, camping equipment and mobile phones.
The Durban High Court sat in quiet silence while pathologists – who could not be named because they feared for their safety – explained how the devoted couple met their harrowing ends.
The botanists, who ran their seed business out of Cape Town, spent six months out on the prairie each year collecting rare gladioli seeds that they sold around the world.
World-famous botanists Rod Saunders (R), 74, and his wife Rachel (L), 63, pounced as ‘good chase’ as they trawled a mountainous region of South Africa in search of rare seeds for their business.
Their bodies were recovered days later, but it was months before they were identified through DNA tests. Postmortems were performed on both badly decomposed bodies to try to determine the cause of death.
The victims’ Land Cruiser was found on February 19 with a large amount of blood in the cargo hold which was later confirmed to have belonged to Dr Rachel Saunders, a court heard.
They drove 900 miles from their home to interview a BBC documentary crew in the Drakensberg Mountains to film an episode of Garden World with presenter Nick Bailey.
After filming, they headed to 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 work.
But they were spotted and in text messages later recovered from the cell phones of the accused killers it was said that they were an “old couple” who would make a “good hunt”.
They were allegedly tracked down, brutally killed and then fed by Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, and his wife, Bibi Fatima Patel, 31, and lodged by Musa Ahmed Jackson, 37.
The trio, allegedly linked to the terrorist organization ISIS, is facing charges of kidnapping, robbery with aggravated circumstances, theft and murder, and pleaded not guilty to all.
Saunders’ bodies were said to have been wrapped in their sleeping bags and taken to the crocodile-infested Tugela River, where they were dumped from a road embankment.
Their bodies were washed away within days but were so badly mutilated by crocodiles and decomposed months later that they were identified by DNA tests.
The couple spent six months a year scouring the mountains and wild forests for desirable seeds for their thriving mail-order business Silver Hill Seeds Worldwide.
The Saunders family was last seen by a BBC documentary crew, filming them in an episode of Gardener’s World.
Dr Saunders and her husband, Rod, told an employee that they were heading to the Ngwi Forest Reserve which is 90 miles north of Durban on February 8, 2018, but were never heard from again. On February 10, the ultimatum was sounded
Durban High Court where the alleged killers of British botanists Rod and Rachel Saunders stand trial for robbery and brutal murder
Rod’s body was found on February 17, 2018 and only identified in April 2018 and Rachel’s body was found three days earlier but only identified in June 2018.
Prosecutor General Mr Mahen Naidu summoned two forensic pathologists who performed autopsies on each body to provide the court with chilling evidence of their cruel end.
The pathologist who performed the postmortem on microbiologist Dr. Rachel Saunders said he initially could not tell if the victim was male or female because of the injuries.
The doctor with 40 years of experience said Rachel’s body was “one of the most serious cases” he had ever performed an autopsy on throughout his career.
He said she died from suffocation wounds, stab wounds, and blunt injuries, then pointed to subsequent mutilation by crocodiles that rendered her unrecognizable.
I did an autopsy and wasn’t sure if it was a male or female body due to its advanced state of decomposition and due to the alligator’s injuries.
She was dismembered. There were missing limbs – the right arm and leg were not present. He ate the entire thigh and there was no breast tissue.
There was no way to determine the gender. I also saw fractures to the skull, spine, neck and rib cage. There was no hair. There were also several stab wounds.
The Attorney General Mr. Naidu asked the coroner if he was aware of the body being found in the Tugela River and asked if the injuries found were caused by ‘scavenger activity’.
The coroner agreed, saying: “The violent nature in which the body was cut indicates that crocodiles may have been feeding on it. There were jagged bites all over the body.
“However, the stab wounds were well defined about 2 cm deep and the marks on her neck indicated suffocation and cause of death due to multiple injuries.”
Earlier another pathologist said that world-famous horticulturist Rod Saunders died of severe injuries and was attacked by crocodiles in the river.
He said, “Examination of the corpse showed evidence of scavenger activity like a crocodile due to loss of tissue in the arms, neck and chest and loss of a tongue.”
The shocking evidence of their killing and subsequent mutilation by crocodiles after their bodies were unceremoniously thrown off a river embankment left the court in silence.
The court heard text messages between the trio with links to ISIS describing it as a “good hunt” and discussing “killing infidels” saying they were in the woods.
The Saunders left their Cape Town home where they ran their business in Silverhill Seeds on February 4, 2018, and drove 900 miles to meet a BBC TV film crew.
British botanists Rod (left) and Rachel Saunders (center) were killed while outing with the Pacific Pulp Society.
The tragic couple, shown here on another seed hunt with the Pacific Pulp Association, were allegedly targeted.
Rod and Rachel Saunders on one of their many expeditions into the wilds of the South African mountains to collect seeds for their global mail-order gardening company in Cape Town
They then moved to the Ngoye Forest and were last contacted on February 8, and a thorough search was conducted for them by the police two days later.
The court was told: ‘On about 10 February, the investigating officer received information that Rodney Saunders and his wife, Dr Rachel Saunders, had a fear of kidnapping.
It was established on 13 February that the defendants were withdrawing money from an ATM which amounted to a theft of 734,000 rand (£37,000) and there was the theft of a Toyota Land Cruiser and camping equipment.
“It is alleged that between 10 and 15 February in the Ngoi Forest, the accused unlawfully and premeditatedly killed Rachel Saunders, and between the same date unlawfully and premeditatedly murdered Rodney Saunders.”
The Hawkes Elite Police Squad found a link between the cell phones of Mr. and Mrs. Saunders and the cell phones of the suspects and arrested the three suspects, charging them with murder.
They also found ISIS leaflets and flags in the trio’s house.
The court heard: ‘On March 23rd, the third accused Jackson was arrested and made a statement that he was woken up by Patel at their home on February 10th and told him to meet Del Vecchio on the road.
Del Vecchio was in a Land Cruiser and Patel and Jackson followed him to the Tugela River Bridge where they helped him remove the sleeping bags from behind and dumped the human bodies inside into the river.
The victim’s Land Cruiser was found on February 19 with large amounts of blood inside.
South African-born Rachel took British citizenship when she married British-born Rod 30 years ago and the two have traveled the world lecturing on their passions at Gladioli in South Africa.
In 1995, Rod quit his job as nursery manager at the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and leading university microbiologist Rachel quit her job and they created Silverhill Seeds.
It was a successful home-based business that employed employees to sell their seeds all over the world and the couple spent six months a year camping out on the prairie collecting stock to sell by mail.
Married couple Del Vecchio and Patel and their lodgers Jackson deny kidnapping, murder, robbery and robbery in Durban High Court.
The prehistoric Nile crocodile is widespread throughout South Africa and reaches 5.5 meters in length and weighs more than 1000 kg and kills up to 300 people annually in South Africa.
The trial continues.
