• The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has heard more evidence of how three murder suspects spent “stolen money” after allegedly killing celebrated botanists Rodney Saunders and his wife, Rachel.
• Aslam del Vecchio, Fatima Patel and Ahmad Jackson spent at least R11 298 on a camera drone and two-way radios of the R734 000 they allegedly drained from the couple’s bank accounts.
• News24 understands that the State plans to use the transaction in its contention that the accused planned to commit further crimes.

Three people charged with the murders of Rodney Saunders, 73, and his wife Rachel, 63, allegedly bought a camera drone and two sets of two-way radios after robbing and killing the British botanists in February 2018, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has heard.

The State claims Aslam del Vecchio, 41; Fatima Patel, 31; and Ahmad Jackson, 37, planned to commit further crimes after allegedly tossing the bodies of the couple into the crocodile-infested Tugela River in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

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The Saunders couple held dual South African and United Kingdom citizenship.

The celebrated botanists left their Cape Town home on 5 February 2018, to film a documentary in the Drakensberg for the BBC. Then they proceeded to other parts of KwaZulu-Natal in search of rare seeds.

They were last seen alive on 10 February 2018.

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On Wednesday, a former Cape Union Mart store manager took to the stand, confirming that the three accused were in possession of a bank card belonging to the couple shortly after they disappeared.

The witness, who cannot be named due to safety concerns, testified that the accused arrived at the store’s branch at The Pavilion mall in Westville, Durban, on 13 February 2018.

“I first noticed accused number 3 (Jackson) as he entered the store. Accused number 2 (Del Vecchio) and number 1 (Patel) then followed,” said the man.

The witness continued:

“Accused 2 and 1 stood at the centre of the shop, and I approached them for a short conversation as part of my duties. I noticed that accused number 2 had a funny accent, and I asked him where he was from. He told me that he was from Italy but had been visiting South Africa for the past 25 years,” he added.

The man said at around 13:40 on 13 February, Jackson purchased a drone and the first set of two-way radios at a total cost of R11 298. The witness told the court that Jackson used an FNB gold card registered to RM Saunders (Rachel).

He described the behaviour of the accused as “suspicious the whole time they were in the store”.

“Usually, when people purchase these high value items, they have questions. Customers usually ask, is there a warranty? How long are the batteries likely to last? Does the warranty cover the camera? Can we see the product in operation? But they didn’t ask for any of that,” the witness added.

‘Dr Saunders is my wife’

He said the three returned to the shop the following day, 14 February 2018.

“Accused number 3 purchased a rechargeable spotlight, another set of two-way radios, an Old Khaki T-shirt and a pair of discounted sandals. It totalled R4 766.00.”

He said the accused used the Saunders’ bank card again, and he queried this with him.

He said:

“I pulled myself back and told him that I needed to make the call. He then attempted to take the card altogether. As I was making the phone call, accused 2 and 1 shot out of the shop. I spotted them running out of the shop. I then phoned my manager. He advised me to take a picture of the card and cut it altogether.”

Del Vecchio, Patel and Jackson are alleged to have stolen R734 000 from the couple’s bank accounts. They pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.

The trial is expected to resume on Thursday, with prosecutor Mahen Naidu set to lead evidence into Rachel Saunders’ post-mortem results.