Three individuals who were responsible for the murder of two prominent horticulturists from the United Kingdom in South Africa have received life sentences. Rachel Saunders, 64, and Rodney Saunders, 73, were abducted in Ngoye Forest, then later robbed and killed in February 2018. Their bodies were discovered in a river infested with crocodiles shortly after they had filmed a BBC Gardeners World TV segment.
The couple, who were botanists, had journeyed to the area to gather native plants and seeds. Saffydeen Aslam del Vecchio, 46, his wife Fatima Patel, 35, and Ahmad Mussa from Malawi have each been given two life sentences following their conviction for the murders in June. The sentencing occurred at the KwaZulu-Natal Local Division of the High Court in Durban, South Africa.
Renowned for their knowledge of wildflowers, the couple had spent time with TV presenter Nick Bailey filming a documentary. After parting ways with Bailey and his film crew in the Drakensberg Mountains, they ventured into a remote forest to search for rare gladioli flowers for their seeds. Tragically, just two days later, the British botanists were brutally killed by the gang linked to ISIS.
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