Leigh: D-Day for Moodley
2005-08-03 22:37
Yvonne Beyers and Lucia Swart
Johannesburg - For the first 25 years of his life, Donovan Moodley was a free man.
And, he might spend the next 25 behind bars for kidnapping and killing Leigh Matthews.
Last week, Moodley, in a surprise move, confessed to kidnapping Leigh, extorting money from her family and murdering her on July 9 2004.
He was immediately convicted by Judge Joop Labuschagne.
Leigh's body was found 12 days after she had been abducted, but Moodley insisted that he'd shot her in the Walkerville area south of Johannesburg on the same day he had kidnapped her.
Several State witnesses last week testified that her body had definitely been moved after her death and that it had been cooled before being left in Walkerville.
Police spokesperson Chris Wilken told Beeld that, although there were no other suspects in the case, police were still investigating "the possible involvement of others".
Jonathan Minnie, Moodley's attorney, on Wednesday said his client "stuck to his story".
He added that Moodley might give more information after being sentenced.
Court 2A of Johannesburg High Court was expected to be packed on Thursday morning when Labuschagne sentenced Moodley shortly after 10:00.
Zaais van Zyl, State prosecutor, asked last week for a life sentence (25 years) for Moodley in his closing argument.
Johan Pretorius, for Moodley, asked that his client receive "a long sentence, but not life".
Investigating officer Piet Byleveld's testimony, which was never given in court, was to be made public after Moodley is sentenced.
Byleveld's testimony, spanning more than 100 printed pages, could reveal details about the investigation and answer questions which went unanswered during the trial.
Rob Matthews, Leigh's father, on Wednesday said they would be in court to hear the fate of their daughter's killer.
"We are actually quite OK.
"We have had a rough time, but we are managing," he said.