The officer investigating the case against Donovan Moodley — who was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of student Leigh Matthews — will investigate the possible involvement of others in the crime.
Superintendent Piet Byleveldt said although the case against Moodley (25) is closed, there are certain aspects of it that could still be probed.
“There are certain aspects that will be investigated … I must act on the judge’s findings,” he said at a press conference after the sentencing.
Asked if he believes that anyone else was involved, Byleveldt said: “Anything is possible.”
Johannesburg High Court Judge Joop Labuschagne sentenced Moodley to life imprisonment for Matthews’s murder — 25 years in effect.
He will also serve another 15 years for the kidnapping, to run concurrently with the 10 years for extorting a R50 000 ransom from her family.
Moodley confessed last Monday to kidnapping Matthews on July 9 last year, extorting money from her parents and killing her in cold blood. Judge Labuschagne found him guilty on all three counts.
The state used police officers, scientists and a pathologist to show Moodley had also stored the body in a refrigerator for 12 days before staging the crime scene in Walkerville.
Witnesses testified Matthews’s body was not decomposed when it was discovered, and contended that the position of cartridge cases did not match Moodley’s recollection of the shooting and that more than four litres of blood were missing.
Asked if Moodley had committed previous crimes, Byleveldt said: “I did go into his background … I couldn’t find anything sinister.
“If I had come up with anything, he would have been charged.”
When Moodley was arrested, he told Byleveldt he had killed Matthews for money.
Moodley was surprised the police had caught him.
“I don’t think he ever thought we would solve the case.”
When asked what type of person Moodley is, Byleveldt said: “He is an ordinary person like myself.”
He said he is pleased with the judge’s findings and sentencing and hopes it will stop such a crime from happening again.
Donovan’s lawyer, Jonathan Minnie, told the media that his client seems “happy that this chapter has now been closed”.
He added that Donovan “accepts his fate” handed down by the judge and that he has received no instructions to appeal.
“He was expecting this type of sentence. This morning he indicated to me that he felt much better today than he did last week Monday.
“I sum Donovan up as a kind-hearted person from the time I have known him,” said Minnie.
Minnie was instructed to give a packet of letters to former fiancée on Thursday — letters that she wrote to Donovan and that he received from people, “even from some of you guys in the media”, he said.
‘Callous, heinous’ crimes
Sentencing Moodley, Judge Labuschagne said the crimes were “callous, heinous and beyond comprehension”.
“He has ruined his own life and has devastated the lives of his own family and that of the Matthews family,” he said.
More than 160 people were in the courtroom to hear the judgement. Moodley walked up the stairs slower than usual, wearing a black pinstriped suit.
As he got to the top of the stairs, he turned around and scanned the packed courtroom.
Sharon Matthews, Leigh’s mother, craned her neck to look at Moodley and stared violently at him for some time. Karen Matthews, Leigh’s sister, frowned.
While reading his sentence, Judge Labuschagne looked directly at Moodley and said his father, Stephen Moodley, must have felt “absolute horror and devastation when he learned of the terrible deeds you have committed”.
He said the experience for Moodley’s father when he took the stand must have been “traumatic and uncomfortable”, and commended him for his courage.
“Another factor to bear in mind is the question of mercy,” said Judge Labuschagne.
“What weighs heavily in his favour is that he is a first-time offender … You obviously come from a good family who have supported you through the trial.”
Judge Labuschagne said Moodley had subjected Leigh to a “frightening and cruel nightmare” before she was murdered.
“One cannot possible imagine the anguish and horror that the deceased must have endured before her untimely death … the rights to dignity and privacy of every person is basic to the Constitution.”
“The Matthews family has been deprived of the love and compassion of the deceased. Nothing I say can comfort them for the loss that they have suffered.
“Remorse can be deemed by the fact that the accused pleaded guilty and made admissions.”
However, Judge Labuschagne said one should “not accept that fact at face value” because of the strong case against him.
He questioned whether Moodley is remorseful and said one must question “whether it’s genuine or not”.
He said Moodley “failed to lead any evidence at this regard” about whether Leigh’s body had been stored somewhere else before it was placed in the veld in Walkerville.
Judge Labuschagne found that somebody else “must have” helped Moodley transport Matthews’s body and that he is “protecting” that person or people.
“It is clear that the deceased was not killed where the body was found. It is clear to me that [Moodley] is untruthful in this regard.”
Judge Labuschagne said Moodley has not been “candid with the court” and that “he simply went on with his life after he murdered Matthews”.
At this stage, Yeshika Singh (Moodley’s ex-fiancée) wiped her eyes.
The judge said Moodley could have gone into the witness box but “he didn’t have the courage to do that”.
“He did all this because of greed.”
Leigh’s mother began to cry when the judge said that what Moodley had done was “heinous, callous and simply beyond comprehension”.
She then closed her eyes and held her chin high as he continued.
After the judge had finished reading his sentence, there were shouts of relief from the back of the courtroom.
The Matthews family then started hugging one another, while the Moodley family broke into tears, as Moodley was led away into the cells beneath the court.
No forgiveness
Rob Matthews, Leigh’s father, said his family are “satisfied” with the sentence handed down by Judge Labuschagne and thanked everyone involved in the case.
He commended the police investigation and said they “were prepared for anything … it was an outstanding investigation”.
“Piet [Byleveldt] and his team have been amazing. They were on 24-hour call to us.”
He even thanked the taxi drivers who drove around with a picture of Leigh on their windows when she went missing.
“They were so good to us, they were amazing,” he said. “We are benefactors of the deepest vision of the rainbow nation … I don’t think I’ve been hugged by so many people in my life.”
Rob told the media that the R50 000 he will receive in a few days from the Moodley family “doesn’t bring our daughter back”.
“It does give a message that criminals cannot benefit from crime,” he added.
Referring to Stephen Moodley taking the stand and testifying, Rob said: “Wow, that was courage from his side. We really respect and appreciate that.”
Sharon Matthews said she feels a lot of compassion for Stephen Moodley, but added she will “not in a million years” forgive Donovan Moodley for what he did.
She turned to her husband, shrugged and said: “Sorry, but I can’t.”