Trial of trio accused of murdering UK couple set to begin

The trial of three people accused of murdering United Kingdom couple, Rachel and Rodney Saunders, is set to begin on Tuesday.

Aslam Del Vecchio (39) Bibi Fatima Patel (28) and Mussa Ahmed Jackson (35) made a brief appearance on Monday at the Durban high court, under heavy police presence.

The trio are each charged with two counts of murder, theft, kidnapping and malicious damage to property.

According to the charge sheet, on February 10, 2018, the trio allegedly killed Rachel and, five days later, killed Rodney near the Ngoye forest in Eshowe, north of KwaZulu-Natal.

The decomposed bodies were found by police.

Shortly after their disappearance, police found the couple’s car with blood marks and over R730 000 was withdrawn from their accounts.

A 19-year-old teenager, Themba Xulu, was found with the couple’s phones and was charged and handed a three-year suspended sentence.

Following a short police investigation, Del Vecchio, Patel and Jackson were arrested during a police raid on a house near the forest.

All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges. At the time of their death, Rachel and Rodney were believed to be searching for a rare plant in the Ngoye forest for an upcoming television show.

The couple, who were world-renowned botanists, held dual UK and South African citizenship.

The motive has not been established for their deaths but there have been reports of its being a possible terrorist attack.

The trial was initially set to run from May 16 until June 17 this year, however, it was postponed largely due to the defence being unhappy with how the trial was being conducted.

On Monday, the state said it was ready to proceed with the trial which is set down until next month.

Already 12 people have testified in the trial with more state witnesses expected to be called in the upcoming days.