AN ISIS-linked gang who stabbed and battered a Brit couple to death then threw their bloodied bodies to crocodiles have been jailed for life.
Botanists Rod Saunders, 72, and wife Rachel, 63, were ambushed in South Africa whilst out searching for rare flowers in 2018.
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Rachel and Rod Saunders were murdered while searching for flowers in 2018 Credit: Pacific Bulb Society
The couple who had been together for over 30 years and lived in Cape Town were setting up camp when they were attacked.
Saffydeen Aslam del Vecchio, 46, his wife Fatima Patel, 35, and Malawian national Ahmad Mussa were each sentenced to two life terms at the Durban High Court on Thursday.
The trio were convicted of double murder, kidnapping and armed robbery last month.
The court heard how Rod and Rachel were tied and tortured for their credit card PIN number and bank details before being murdered.
A machete like blade, a knife and a heavy object were used to batter, slash and stab the couple to death.
They were then trussed up inside sleeping bags and thrown off a bridge into crocodile-infested waters in Ngoye Forest National Park.
Only 48 hours earlier, the botanic experts had been interviewed for a Gardeners’ World special on the BBC.
Durban High Court heard how gang ringleader Sayefundeen Del Vecchio, 44, had identified the married couple as a “good hunt”.
After carrying out the mindless killings, he texted his wife Bibi Patel, 34, and their lodger Mussa Jackson, 40, to say the “prey are in hellfire”.
Del Vecchio then told the pair to come and meet him in the Saunders’ stolen Toyota Land Cruiser.
The court heard that when his wife and lodger arrived, Rod and Rachel were dead in the back of it.
Del Vecchio then drove his victims to the Tugela River Bridge and threw them over the edge.
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