Convicted killers Bibi Fatima Patel, her husband, Sayefudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, the three individuals convicted in the kidnapping and murder of the Saunders couple.
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban is set to deliver sentencing on Wednesday in the high-profile case of three accused convicted in the kidnapping and murder of British botanists Dr Rodney Saunders and Dr Rachel Saunders, as well as related charges of robbery, theft, and kidnapping.
Fatima Bibi Patel, Sayefudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, and Musa Jackson were found guilty earlier this year on multiple counts linked to the February 2018 incident in the Ngoya Forest in Zululand, where the couple disappeared while conducting botanical research.
“The KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court sitting in Durban has convicted Fatima Bibi Patel, Sayefudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, and Musa Jackson on charges of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft, and two counts of murder,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said.
The court previously heard that the Saunders had travelled into the Ngoya Forest on 08 February 2018 “in search of rare and unique seeds” after completing filming for a BBC documentary in the Drakensberg.
