Chilling text messages from the ISIS-linked murderers of two British botanists in South Africa and the subsequent devouring of their bodies by crocodiles have been revealed.
Dr Rachel Saunders, 63, and her husband Rod, 74, were brutally killed and their corpses were wrapped in their sleeping bags before being thrown off a bridge into a crocodile-infested river.
It was just hours after they were interviewed by BBC TV presenter Nick Bailey for an episode of Gardeners' World.
They were allegedly tracked and brutally murdered then fed to crocodiles by ISIS-linked Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, his wife Bibi Fatima Patel, 31, and their lodger Mussa Ahmad Jackson, 37.
A suspected militant gang went on a £37,000 spending spree with their credit cards after stealing their Toyota Landcruiser and their camping equipment and mobile phones.
The court had heard text messages between the trio with ISIS links describing them as a “good hunt” and discussing “killing the kuffar” saying they were in the forest.
Further text messages subsequently recovered from the accused killers’ mobile phones saw the pair being described as an “elderly couple” who would be a “good hunt”.
Durban High Court also sat in hushed silence as the pathologists – who cannot be named as they fear for their safety – spelt out how the devoted married couple died.
The trio face charges of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and murder and have pleaded not guilty to all.
The husband and wife's bodies were washed up within days but were so badly mutilated by crocodiles and decomposed that it was months later that they were identified by DNA checks.
The pathologist who did the post-mortem on microbiologist Dr Rachel Saunders said he could not at first tell whether the victim was male or female due to the injuries.
The doctor with 40 years of experience said that Rachel’s body was “one of the most extreme cases” for which he had ever performed an autopsy in his whole career.
He said that she died from strangulation and stab wounds and blunt trauma injuries then referred to the subsequent mutilation by crocodiles that left her unrecognisable.
"I performed the autopsy and I was not sure as to whether it was a male or a female body given its advanced decomposed state and due to the crocodile injuries.
“She had been dismembered. There were missing limbs – the right arm and a leg was not there. The groin was totally eaten out and there was no breast tissue.
"There was no way to determine the gender. I also saw fractures on the skull, spine, neck, and ribcage. There was no hair. There were also multiple stab wounds.
Prosecutor Mr Naidu asked the pathologist if he was aware the body was found in the Tugela River and asked if the injuries present were due to “scavenger activity”
The pathologist agreed: "The violent nature in which the body was dismembered suggests crocodiles may have fed on it. There were ragged bites all over the body.
“However the stab wounds were well defined about 2cm deep and the marks on her neck suggested strangulation and the cause of death is due to multiple injuries”
Earlier another pathologist said that world-renowned horticulturist Rod Saunders had died from a blunt impact injury and had also been attacked by crocodiles in the river.
He said: ”Examination of the body showed evidence of scavenger activity for example a crocodile due to lost tissue on the arms, neck, and chest and a missing tongue”.
The Saunders left their home in Cape Town where they ran their business Silverhill Seeds on February 4, 2018, and drove 900 miles to meet the BBC TV film crew.
They then moved onto the Ngoye Forest and the last contact with them was on February 8 and a full scale police search was launched for them two days later.
South African born Rachel received British citizenship when she married British born Rod 30 years ago and the pair travelled the world giving lectures on their passion on the Gladioli of South Africa.
