DURBAN — A South African court has sentenced three individuals to life imprisonment for the 2018 kidnapping, robbery, and murder of British botanists Rachel and Rodney Saunders. The KwaZulu-Natal division of the Durban High Court delivered the sentences on Thursday to Saffydeen Aslam del Vecchio, 46, Fatima Patel, 35, and Ahmad Mussa.

The trio had been convicted of the murders last month. Each received two life terms, along with 15 years' imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances and four years for theft. The sentences for the accused will run concurrently.

Rachel Saunders, 64, and Rodney Saunders, 73, who held dual South African and British citizenship, were last seen alive on February 10, 2018. They were kidnapped in the Ngoye Forest, located 150 kilometers north of Durban. The couple, who owned a seed business in Cape Town, were collecting indigenous plants and seeds at the time of their disappearance.

The couple's car was found with blood marks shortly after they went missing. Their bodies were later discovered in a river. Rodney Saunders' body was identified by fishermen in the Tugela River several weeks after his disappearance, and Rachel Saunders' body was identified on June 13, 2018.

Police arrested del Vecchio and Patel on February 15, 2018. Items belonging to the deceased couple were found when police searched the property of del Vecchio and Patel. Ahmad Musa was arrested three weeks later and charged, according to police.

The South African police service stated that the three individuals were found guilty of stealing the couple's belongings, including bank cards. These bank cards were subsequently used to purchase various items near Durban. Reportedly, 734,000 rand was drained from the couple's bank accounts. Saffydeen Aslam del Vecchio also received a five-year imprisonment sentence for an unrelated case of malicious damage to property.

Fatima Patel was arrested in January 2016 during a separate anti-terrorism raid closer to Johannesburg with her brother, though neither was charged following that arrest.