Police have refused to confirm reports of pending arrests linked to an unregistered mortuary in the Leigh Matthews kidnapping and murder case.
”We are not prepared to reveal any information that will jeopardise [investigating officer] Piet Byleveld’s investigation,” said Johannesburg police spokesperson Superintendent Chris Wilken.
”The only comment I would like to make is that investigations are at a sensitive stage, and I cannot reveal anything. We can’t talk about speculation in newspapers,” said Wilken.
In his trial, murderer Donovan Moodley denied keeping Matthews’s body on ice for several days before dumping it in a veld in Walkerville — despite expert evidence to the contrary.
Newspapers have since reported that police are on the verge of making five arrests linked to an unregistered mortuary belonging to someone ”close” to Moodley, and in which Matthews’s body was thought to have been stored before being dumped.
It has also been reported that someone other than Moodley is believed to have driven the vehicle that transported Matthew’s body to Walkerville — even though Moodley in his trial denied having help committing the crime.
Moodley snatched the Bond University student and held her for ransom, but killed her and dumped her body in a veld after extorting money from her father. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing, 15 years for the kidnapping and 10 years for the extortion.
An application for leave to appeal his conviction and sentence is to be heard in Johannesburg High Court on Friday. — Sapa