The kidnapping and murder of Leigh Matthews

It’s the 21st of July 2004, Eliot Makhubela and his nephew Samuel were cutting grass in open patches of land near the village of Walkerville, South Africa. Eliot made a living drying and selling this long grass as roof thatching. 

It had been a long day, and although they were knocking off, they decided to stop by one last spot. This was where they were going to start the next day, so they were scouting it out essentially. 

It was Samuel who first spotted something in the grass although he didn’t know what it was, but as soon as Eliot saw it, he knew it was a body. There in the scrubby veld lay a young woman, naked and lying on her back, her face turned to the side, and clearly dead with three gunshot wounds.

They didn’t know it at the time, but this was the body of Leigh Matthews, a student who’d been missing for 12 days, a young woman whose disappearance the whole country had been talking about for days. 

Source material:

·       Sapa (iol): https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/leigh-matthews-is-dead-217753#.UUdJuxdTCz4

·       News 24: https://www.news24.com/News24/Kidnapped-girl-still-missing-20040711

·       Iol: https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/moodleys-appeal-dismissed-485151#.UUd13BdTCz4

·       NicoleClaire (youtube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-sHsoEHLwA

·       Mail & Guardian: https://mg.co.za/article/2005-11-18-donovan-moodley-i-was-framed/

·       You mag: https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/you-south-africa/20190801/281565177356771

·       Evidence locker podcast: https://evidencelockerpodcast.com/transcript-97-the-murder-of-leigh-matthews-south-africa/

·       Saturday Star: https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/leigh-murder-shocker-1172123

·       Byleveld: Dossier of a Serial Sleuth, by Hanlie Retief: https://www.amazon.com/Byleveld-dossier-serial-Hanlie-Retief-ebook/dp/B005JD2OES

·       News 24: https://www.news24.com/News24/I-am-too-clever-says-Donovan-Moodley-20120125

·       News 24: https://www.news24.com/News24/Moodleys-application-dismissed-20091125

·       News 24: https://www.news24.com/News24/Moodley-shows-no-emotion-as-verdict-read-20120201

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