Moodley bought ring with ransom

2005-07-26 14:56

Johannesburg - Murderer Donovan Moodley spent the money he extorted from Leigh Matthews' parents on motorbike repairs and an engagement ring, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Tuesday.

"Part of the ransom of R50 000 was deposited into my banking account and spent on odds and ends as well as an engagement ring.

Part of the money was used to pay off a debt incurred in respect of repairs to my Ducati motorbike," he said at the hearing in mitigation of sentence.

On Monday Moodley was found guilty of the kidnap of Matthews from the Johannesburg's Bond University, the extortion of a ransom from her parents and her murder.

He had pleaded guilty to all three charges.

By lunchtime on Tuesday pathologist Hendrik Scholtz had almost finished describing the post-mortem he conducted on her body.

Her parents appeared composed as he ran through his findings which led him to opine that she had died a week before the discovery of her body, that her body was kept in a cold, closed space, possibly mechanically refrigerated, and at some point she was dragged by the feet.

Toxicology report

Moodley says he killed her at the spot in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, where her body was found by a grass cutter.

The toxicology report, which was part of the post-mortem report, also showed that Leigh was on the anti-depressant Citalopram at the time of her death.

Scholtz said she died within 24 hours of taking the last dose.

Photographs taken at the crime scene were shown to the court.

Conclusions were reached through indicators like an absence of fly eggs and other larvae in her body, an absence of small animal activity and an absence of post-mortem gas formation.

It emerged that the temperature in Walkerville at the time Matthews' body was found had been between five and 15°C.

Another issue was the "marbling" effect on the body. This occurs when skin gets the appearance of marble due to blood decomposing.

"You would expect the whole body to go through marbling," said Scholtz.

Confessions

Moodley made several other confessions to speed up the process to "show his feelings" and shorten the procedure.

"The crimes I have committed are heinous.

"As a result of my actions, the deceased was subjected to the most terrible fear and uncertainty throughout the day of the incident, up until the time she was killed by me.

"As a result of my actions Mr and Mrs Matthews were also subjected to the utmost anxiety... It caused them to experience incomprehensible psychological anguish and suffering.

"My deeds, especially the killing of their daughter, was a senseless deed.

"The commission of the first two crimes was triggered by greed (kidnapping and extortion)."

'Monkey in a cage'

When reporters sat too close to Moodley, he had his advocate tell the judge that he felt like a "monkey in a cage" and the judge then ordered that the reporters move further back.

He winked at his family, including his fiancée Yeshika, and wrote extensive notes in his journal.

- SAPA